Finally
by mauvemaven
Summary: After so many years of feeling like a yo-yo ball on a fraying string, Felicity had just about had it with Oliver and his manpain. She was leaving him – or so she'd thought – until he'd started playing as dirty as he can to finally play for keeps. Canon Divergence 3x20 onwards didn't happen. Tommy's Alive! Thea didn't kill Sara. NEW BONUS CHAPTER 9: The Morning After!
1. Chapter 1

The Starling City Stars, in their first finals appearance in 10 years, were set to play hockey's reigning four-year champions – the Gotham City Knights in Game 7 of the championship series. The much-anticipated away game was to be televised live via pay-per-view, so Oliver, knowing that most of his friends supported the local underdogs, rescheduled the opening gala of the newly-minted Queen Incorporated to an earlier time, just so that everybody could gather round his new penthouse to watch the deciding match of the hockey finals.

So here they were, in his living room, freshly arrived from the corporate event, dressed in what Thea called their best _fancy fancy_ , waiting as Cisco reconfigured his top-of-the-line home entertainment system for what the engineer promised to be the 'whole rink-side seat experience'.

The extensive peaceful lull they were having lately had made him more prone to introspection. He often found himself reviewing the highlights of his life, and in all his years since the island, he had never imagined that he would see this day – a day where he felt he was doing things right and where he was finally at home with his friends, with the people who mattered to him.

Tommy and Laurel were talking by the fireplace. Thea and Roy were busy behind the bar mixing drinks. Barry and Caitlin were in front of his flat screen, fidgeting with wires to help Cisco with the sound system. Diggle was emerging from the kitchen, bearing two huge bowls of chips and salsa. Even Lyla, who kept kissing him and hugging him too enthusiastically for Digg's comfort when he extended his invitation to her, was right alongside her husband, bringing a giant tub of popcorn in one hand, and holding a big bag of Skittles in the other. Who knew that Lyla Diggle used to captain an underground A.R.G.U.S. hockey fantasy league team – one of the winningest of all-time? How she did that under Amanda Waller's nose, he did not particularly want to know, but he was glad she was here all the same.

And Felicity was –

 _Wait, where did she go?_

He knew she drove over with their Central City friends. He'd seen her with Caitlin just a few minutes ago and he'd overheard her on her phone, ordering a truckload of pizza with extra toppings on the side.

Felicity has quickly become his touchstone, his talisman, his safe harbor – and that feeling of safety has made him forego his keen awareness and that was what had him putting on the brakes every time he had gotten too close to the edge. In the beginning, he'd promised Diggle that he would protect her, but without his vigilance, his presence in her life would always be a constant threat to her. So he pushed her away and ran and hid from his feelings, making them both suffer for his inability to risk the uncertainty of a doomed future with someone he could really care about and his reluctance to sacrifice the only constant in his dark, violent life – his damned mission. But he should've known then that all his efforts were futile, because despite his very best efforts not to, he, Oliver Jonas Queen, had inevitably and irrevocably fallen in love with one Felicity Meghan Smoak.

And now, with the Arrow being out of commission for the foreseeable future, and without the impetus of a company to save, he had seen less and less of her in the past few weeks. He'd felt the distance between them steadily growing, and he'd increasingly felt adrift, missing her soothing chatter, her awkward and revealing babbles, and the comfort of her strongly held belief in him. He'd secretly begun to fear that he had finally pushed her far enough away this time, for her to ever return willingly to his side.

And then he'd heard Ned Foster, QI's reinstated COO, saying that Lucius Fox had begun taking an active interest in her work, even going as far as amiably ambushing her with an open invitation to Wayne Tech whenever she felt inclined. "We'd hate to lose the VP of our most profitable division." The balding executive said to the small group they were entertaining at the gala, just before he pointedly looked at Oliver, "Maybe, _someone_ should finally do something about it."

That mild gibe may have earned polite, teasing laughter from those who had been with QC, now QI, long enough to be familiar with the undying rumors surrounding Oliver and Felicity but for Oliver, all he felt through his tight answering smile was cold, absolute dread – followed almost instantly by wild, irrepressible panic. _Could he have lost her already?_

So he had sought her out, after telling that crowd that _he just might_ and kept her perennially in his line of sight. And because he couldn't really help it, he found himself attached to her side a few times, playing the attentive host, refilling her drink, steering her towards people she would enjoy meeting and away from encounters they would normally elude. He did all that even when she had been adamant that they go to the gala separately and talk to different people so as to avoid intensifying the gossip she had hoped to dismiss.

And despite her skittishness around him lately, it was only when he had wrangled repeated assurances from her (and Barry, and from Caitlin and Cisco, who were both spending some down time away from Star Labs) confirming her presence at his place tonight, that he gave her the space he'd promised and allowed some of his anxiety to dissipate enough for him to enjoy the company of his other friends and colleagues.

But now that she was gone from his immediate vision again, the dread and panic returned.

 _She must be here somewhere._ So he went about searching his whole house for the one person who has come to matter to him the most.

Felicity usually considered herself a glass half-full kind of girl who can roll with the punches, but seeing everyone around her breaking-off in pairs, was just a little bit too much.

Tommy, who mysteriously appeared on the Foundry's doorstep apparently alive but questionably well a few months back, and Laurel, who had seemingly sobered up the instant after that, were making small talk and clapping some serious heart eyes at each other, like the intervening two years and Sara's death at the hands of his father had never happened. Thea and Roy were all touchy-feely, obviously back together despite Roy's recent run-in with the cops. Digg and Lyla, who were enjoying a rare night away from baby duty, made themselves comfortable on one end of the monolithic custom leather couch Thea insisted Oliver had to have, while Barry and Caitlin sat on the other end, making adorable conversation with talking hands and wires. Heck, even Cisco was having a little too much fun reconfiguring his new babies – Oliver's premium 3D audio speakers – to his liking.

Despite being surrounded by her closest and dearest friends, Felicity was feeling a little left out – no, wait – a lot left out. So, after calling the pizza place and placing (mostly Barry's) order, she left the living room in search of a little solitude.

He found her in the kitchen, facing the fridge, snacking on the box of exotic chocolate truffles she bought for him as a housewarming present and downing what looks to be half of one of the bottles of red wine Tommy gave him a couple of days ago. She was sitting on the floor against the center island, barefoot, her red dress fiery against the fridge's faint glow. The whole scene looked fetching, he thought.

"I knew it!"

"Jeez! Seriously, Oliver?" She startled, not able to hide the disdain she had for his 'ninja skills' and his knack for catching her unawares. And because he had the audacity to continue smiling remorselessly at her, she offered the chocolate covered morsels she had accidentally dropped on the floor in his latest attempt to scare her half to death. "Want some?"

"Sure, wouldn't dream of letting it go to waste," he said, without missing a beat, as he slumped down beside her, loosening his tie before sliding it entirely off his neck.

Felicity took one of the fallen, yet entirely edible chocolate nibbles and shoved it, almost angrily, into his ready mouth.

"These are really good," he said as the dark chocolate hit his tongue.

"What did I tell you?" She replied as she chucked another one, this time from the box, into her own mouth and washed it down with the fine Bordeaux she's been swigging freely since she'd escape all the _affection_ in the living room. "Who's left with everybody outside?"

"Everybody else…" he returned glibly.

"That's terrible. You're the host. You shouldn't be leaving them," Felicity chastised, not really wanting to be near the cause of her most recent and not-so-recent vexation.

"Well, _my house, my rules_. And what's so wrong with checking on _my_ chocolate and _my_ wine in _my_ kitchen? I had a feeling someone was sneaking in to steal them," Oliver admonished impishly, right back at her.

Truth was nobody could tell him where she went. He was just about to impatiently kick down doors and clear all the rooms in his top-floor apartment when he decided he needed a drink of ice-cold water to calm himself the heck down.

Felicity giggled, unable to check her mirth at his banter. She remembered teasing him a few days back, about his non-existent sweet tooth and his aversion to all things chocolate, then testily telling him to live a little and have a taste of the exotic confection she had spent a lot of time tracking down and an obscene amount of money on, _or else_ , she would gladly steal back her gift and bring a certain, very costly bottle of red wine home with her right then.

Oliver smiled wistfully at the same memory. Not wanting her to leave, he took a hesitant bite off the chocolate truffle she offered right from her fingers, only to look sheepishly at her a while later, because he'd really liked it – the chocolate, he clarified, as he kept his own positive reaction to the stunned but wanting look on her face as his lips brushed her fingers, to himself.

"Well, I guess you caught your thief red-handed," she conceded cheerily, breaking him effectively from his reverie.

Oliver chuckled at her alcohol-induced amusement. "I won't press charges if you pour me some of that and hand me another one of those," he declared as he pointed to the bottle of wine then the box of truffles with one hand, while he unbuttoned his collar with the other. He saw her quietly contemplating the movement of his fingers so he undid a few more buttons to give her a peek at his chest. He knew she liked seeing him shirtless. He was prepared to play as dirty as it gets.

Felicity, who was halfway drunk and rightfully mortified at her compulsive fascination with his body, shifted too swiftly on her side to reach for another wine glass on the counter. She tried to recover but she'd lost her balance anyway and clumsily fell and ended up straddling Oliver's lap.

"Sorry, I might have had just a little bit too much in me," Felicity tittered as she held her thumb and forefinger a small ways away from each other.

"Yeah, I think you should ease up on the red," he said as he reached out a steadying hand on her waist. The warmth of his touch on her side led to the belated realization of their precarious position, causing more blood to leave her already addled brain and to pool in other, now needier parts of her body.

"I guess so," she hiccupped, her nervous giggles suddenly replaced with a bashful smile.

 _What is the matter with me?_ Felicity thought to herself. Five minutes ago, she was mentally running down her exit strategies – Kord Industries ( _No – Torched that option down after too many sick days spent helping Oliver_ ), Palmer Industries ( _Nope, too awkward – next please_ ), Star Labs ( _Hmmm, Maybe – if Oliver hadn't said Dr. Wells was iffy_ ), Wayne Tech ( _Yeeesss, if only for the toys and Lucius Fox's generosity! But could she handle another mask, though? She was fairly certain that beneath all that charm and playboy swagger, Bruce Wayne was Batman_ ), Stark Industries ( _Another mask but maybe, just maybe, if she played her cards right she'll get to lay eyes on Captain Americahhh! So, definitely, a YES!_ ), Global Dynamics ( _Another possibility since those are her peeps and Fargo is an old friend- she'll fit right in, she knows how to keep a secret_ ), and then there was always get a cat and die lonely.

After so many years of feeling like a yo-yo ball on a fraying string, she had just about had it with Oliver and his obsessive need to be alone, especially during the times when he really shouldn't be. Oh, these were the good days – Oliver smiling more often, a little less burdened by the cares of the world, openly teasing her, flirting with her, unwittingly keeping her close, drawing her right back to the edge, making it so very easy for her to fall for him – again. But she couldn't help thinking about what would happen when the hits start coming.

She'd barely survived him letting her go the first time, citing himself as a constant threat to her safety following their one and only, literally explosive, date. Then he'd gone and put himself between two megalomaniacs who were messing with Tommy and Thea, and had gotten himself thrown from a mountain in the process. Most people would think once was enough but no. Turns out, Oliver was an overachiever in this aspect. After his return to Starling, barely alive, he'd gone back to the bellies of both beasts because he just had to end it all for Tommy and their sister. And he'd risked not only his life – he was willing to sacrifice his soul. Between all that and the next, she couldn't believe how she'd managed to survive, with any semblance of a heart left.

She had tried to be content without him, tried so hard to be truly happy with Ray, she really did, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't really get far away enough from Oliver to forget him. Deciding that she was done with carrying all this baggage, she was thinking of putting some much needed distance between them, now that the city and everybody else seemed at a better place. That was the only way she'd survive with most of her remaining heart intact.

And she'd thought her mind was pretty much made up, but now, all that stubborn, pig-headed, frustratingly honorable man had to do was pull off his tie all sexy and smiley and flirty like that and open a few buttons of his shirt and –

Felicity was stopped from her internal rambling by the shock of his warm lips on hers.

And it sobered her up just about as quickly as Laurel had gone cold turkey upon Tommy's return.

Moments passed with neither of them making a move. Then he heard her sigh. Thinking that she was thinking the kiss was a mistake, Oliver was already on the defensive when she touched his lips with her fingers, tracing every curve on his sensual mouth. The simple gesture caught him off guard. She was stalling. He didn't want to give her time to think too much because he didn't want them to stop but he also knew that if she continued to touch him the way she was touching him now, _he_ will be making the monumental mistake of deciding for her.

Determined to win her over, he held her wrist firmly and kissed her fingers, gently at first, tracing each of their contours with his tongue. Then he took her forefinger into his mouth and lightly nibbled on it. Tasting chocolate and feeling her shiver, he did it again to the rest of her fingers before he continued to assault her heightened senses by nipping his teeth gently against her palm and brushing his tongue softly on her sensitized skin. Dazed and confused, Felicity wrapped her other arm around him and buried her face in the curve of his neck, afraid to make him stop but equally afraid to surrender.

Oliver felt her hesitation but he was not yet ready to give up. Realizing that an honest conversation, not seduction, was the best way to keep her from bolting, he stopped kissing her palm, and cradled her closer to him instead by resting both of his hands on the swell of her hips.

"Talk to me, Felicity," Oliver coaxed.

Felicity straightened and met his eyes.

"We've been here before, Oliver," she huffed. "What if another big bad comes our way – which knowing you and our luck and not really knowing the real outcome of the Ra's vs Merlyn showdown, is pretty inevitable, by the way – what would you do then? Push me away – again? Go one-on-one with bad-ass assassins alone and get yourself killed – again? Go undercover without really telling anyone and almost get yourself turned into an evil minion – again?" Her words left her mouth faster and faster as she ranted against the unshed tears blurring her eyes.

Faced with the mortal fear of losing her, he decided that tonight was the night he was laying it all out, he was making a go at it – taking a stab at finally _living_.

"I don't know what the future holds, Felicity." Oliver said quietly, trying to temper her justified anger as he lifted her chin up to meet her eyes. "But what I do _know_ is that I will never have a chance to stand for or against it without you, right there, by my side… that I'm tired of fighting us, fighting this, that I'm sorry for fighting you, hurting you… that I want to be the man you deserve," he paused, swallowing the lump he suddenly found at his throat, "And that I'm really scared that I've finally pushed you too hard to never ever get that chance."

She held her breath, astonished at his confession.

"Please don't make the same mistake I did. Don't run," he pleaded, his blue eyes solemn. "Let me be with you, Felicity."

His words were her undoing. Fueled by her desire and helpless to stop it, Felicity closed her eyes and touched her forehead to his as her fingers caressed the shadow that was forming on his jaw. Acknowledging her defeat, she kissed him slowly, reveling at the touch of his lips on hers. She deepened the kiss and flicked her tongue hotly between his lips, hoping for his full cooperation. Surprisingly pleased, Oliver rewarded her boldness by opening his mouth on hers – giving her all the access she seemed to need.

She felt him tighten his grip around her as she tentatively touched the roof of his mouth with her tongue. Emboldened by his response, she tipped his jaw a little and began to feather her tongue against his palate.

Oliver's restraint broke at the artful assault. He cradled her face in his hands as he wrested control, shifting his mouth sideways and plundering hers with a hunger he had never known possible. Felicity moaned into his mouth as his tongue rasped against hers, oblivious to the fact that he had already shifted her squarely on top of him, lifting the hem of her dress with questing fingers. Goosebumps erupted all over her body as she shuddered at the feeling of his warm, ardent hands caressing her bare thighs. Driven by her reaction, Oliver tightened his grip on her, forcing her to become fully aware of her very insistent effect on him. He began to move his hips sensually against hers as he alternated small nips and wet kisses down her neck and shoulder.

"Oliver, please" she whimpered brokenly against him as she felt herself starting to match his sinuous movements.

"Please what, Felicity?"

"F–"

"Ollie, pizza's here! Can you break a –" Thea shouted then sputtered as she barged into the kitchen. "Oh. My. God!" She paused for a split second, taking in Felicity and her brother's heated embrace, then, "It's _finally_ happening!" She screamed giddily as she left.

Thwarted by the unwelcome disturbance, they stiffened against each other for a beat before they finally fell over themselves, chuckling hysterically at his sister's parting quip.

As their hilarity died down, Oliver hugged her closer and planted a kiss on her right temple.

"You're not going home," he pronounced.

"Really, I'm not?" Felicity asked distractedly, noticing the mess they'd apparently made, and beginning to clean up.

"Yes, you aren't. We're nowhere near done. You're staying," he grumbled as he shifted her to his side.

"I am?" She asked, somewhat dazedly, realizing belatedly what he really meant. She fought valiantly to stop herself from blushing but failed miserably.

"Yes, babe, you are," Oliver smirked, noticing the rosy flush that was blooming on her cheeks as he took the wine bottle from her and helped her stand.

Before she could even fully get her feet beneath her, he'd handily swept her up and sat her on the kitchen counter, planting himself solidly between her legs. "Now, wait here while I kick them all out," he bade as he gave her another brief kiss on the lips.

"Yeah, well, that's not happening!" She chided, feeling more like herself, as she gripped both of his arms to stop him from what she thought was a very hot – but also, very stupid thing to do.

"Fe-li-ci-ty…"He groaned while exasperatedly burying his face on her shoulder.

"Nope. Nu-uh!" She said, playfully carding her fingers through his hair in a soothing gesture. "I want you, Oliver Queen, but," she paused as she cradled his face and leveled his eyes on hers, "But I love you more than enough to not want to imagine what your undead best friend, your arrow-wielding mini-me, your metahuman speedster groupie, your ex-Special Forces brother-from-another-mother and most importantly, what said brother's very invested, kick-ass, bazooka-wielding, ex-A.R.G.U.S. agent wife would do to you if you do not let them finish watching the game you relentlessly invited them to see on your, and I quote '110-inch Ultra HD flat screen TV, in real time, as it happens, without any commercial breaks!'"

He huffed a little petulantly even after feeling his heart stutter at what he believed to be, an unwitting declaration of her love, "I don't care what they do to me." _But I wanna do_ you, his eyes seemed to say. _NOW._

"But I do… care," she said breathily, almost failing to ignore the unspoken desire in his eyes. "So, _we_ will behave ourselves," she says, collecting herself, as she placed an apologetic kiss on the vee of his neck and did up a couple of buttons on his shirt. "Then, the minute – no, the second – the game's over, I promise to boot them all out. With my Loud Voice." She assured him while swiping some leftover lipstick from his lips. "Think you could do that?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him with a small hopeful smile.

She saw him close his eyes, take a deep, edifying breath and exhale.

"If it's you asking," Oliver surrendered with a reverent smile on his face before placing a small kiss on her forehead and finally helping her down from the kitchen counter. After steadying her while she strapped her shoes back on, he took her hand and threaded his fingers with hers as they quietly made their way out to their waiting friends – their family.

Together.

 _Finally._

* * *

I originally planned this to be a one-shot but I had so much fun writing this, I can be persuaded to write a follow-up. Tell me if you like the idea. Don't forget to leave your reviews and comments! Kisses!


	2. Chapter 2

You guys, I never expected your tremendous support for this fic, so thank you very much! And because of that, this one-shot has turned into a multi-chapter fic. And since I feel really guilty about making you stew and wait for this installment, I've included links to a few polyvore sets I made while I was fleshing out this universe (just go to polyvore's main web page and append the rest of the url addresses I left below; failing that you can find me under the same profile: mauvemaven). Warning: These polyvore sets contain spoilers. So, without further ado, I'll leave you guys to it. XOXO

Felicity's Wardrobe: finally_felicity/set?id=165146535

Oliver's Wardrobe: finally_oliver/set?id=165127132

Team Arrow's Wardrobe: finally_thea_roy_lyla_digg/set?id=165211181

Team Flash's Wardrobe: finally_barry_caitlin_cisco/set?id=165167054

* * *

Chapter 2

Felicity tossed her head on the pillow as the sunlight began pelting her eyes. It was morning and she always hated it, unless she's had her mandatory cup of coffee. She had scarcely registered the spacious but very unfamiliar bedroom before she was moaning against the white hot pain that zapped through her head and lodged itself deep in her brain. The sound of the door opening had her jerking her head towards it – a reflex which caused the sharp ache to zigzag once again through the rest of her skull, leaving her dazed and nauseated.

"My brain!" She screamed as she closed her eyes and sank back against the pillows.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm here," a voice, which she instantly identified as Oliver's, said.

"What happened?" She croaked, still not ready to open her eyes.

"You," his amused voice emphasized, "are having a colossal hangover!" He continued as his voice came from somewhere closer to her.

She stilled as she felt the bed dip with his weight and took a few deep breaths as her stomach rolled upon itself. She hasn't had a hangover in a while – none this bad ever, and she really wanted to know how she accomplished making herself so sick. Her whole head was still stuck on the pain cycle though, so she figured it was better to just ask. "Why?"

"Too much red wine and tequila," he answered casually as he slowly began to sit her up against him.

She grabbed onto him and held on tight as her world went upside down – or was it right side-up? She didn't really know anymore. She was on a lag. Once she felt herself settle on his chest, she tried to remember what happened the night before, but her brain was still refusing to cooperate, so her mouth just ran with the last question it spat out. "Why?"

"Hockey night," he said as he finally got her into a better position.

"Why?" She grumbled, still stuck on repeat.

"Don't try to think too much, Felicity," he chided – but the firmness in his voice was offset by the gentle way he was holding her. "Here, take this," he whispered as he popped a couple of pills into her mouth. "It's aspirin," he clarified as she balked at the bitter taste. He quickly held a glass of water to her mouth and she all but guzzled it down to wash the bitterness from her tongue.

"Hey, slow down," Oliver cautioned as he tried to curb her by tipping the glass away from her.

She moaned her disagreement and chased the lip of the glass with her teeth. Noting her disapproval, he didn't pull the glass completely away from her, but tipped it at a slighter angle instead until she finished drinking.

"Some more?" He asked softly.

She gave him a measured shake of her head before she rested against his chest. The hot ache in her skull had now settled into a steady, nagging throb. She didn't know which was worse. She burrowed further into him, finding the crook of his neck, hoping to distract herself from the pain with his warmth and his scent. His scent – fresh and clean, with a hint of baby powder – had always been one of the things that calmed her during rough days and tougher nights.

They spent a few minutes like that in silence, she may have passed out – she didn't know, but the throbbing seemed to be more tolerable. She was still afraid to open her eyes though, or make any sudden movements, so she just let herself sink more fully into him. That was when she felt him running his fingers through her hair, creating a soothing pressure on her nape and scalp.

"Go back to sleep. You'll feel better when I wake you up later," he whispered as his fingers continued to work their magic on her headache.

XXXXxxxxXXXX

Oliver needed to get busy after he laid Felicity back down to sleep again. He needed to get his blood moving because he refused to spend his first morning with her just lying around like his body was begging him to. He had just gone to his bathroom to run some water on his face, brush his teeth and take a couple of aspirin when he heard Felicity moan. He'd quickly accomplished his goals, knowing just how terrible she was feeling. He then brought a glass of water and the bottle of aspirin to her as he found her waking up to the effects of too much alcohol.

He hadn't really taken a serious drink in a long while and he had forgotten just how bad tequila was for him – vodka, he could chug like water but tequila had always been his weak spot. He had never really been able to get past a sixth shot without passing out, so he was thankful that last night's drinking game stopped when Cisco passed out after Starling City's fourth and final goal.

He should have never allowed Tommy to talk him into reviving the drinking game they used to play whenever a hockey game was on, back when they were younger. After the excitement of Thea jumping up and down and shouting about what she had witnessed in the kitchen, his friend told him that the hockey match had gone boring by comparison.

See, after having been pelted by a rain of Skittles and popcorn when his friends noisily and happily congratulated them as he and Felicity emerged from their kitchen rendezvous, Oliver discovered that he had, in his eagerness to secure his place in Felicity's life, thwarted a plan that their friends have put in place to get the two of them together.

 _"You just had to ruin our fun, didn't you?"_ Tommy had said as he had playfully cuffed Oliver over the shoulder. _"We were all ready to get you two drunk and lock you in the closet to finally push you stubborn idiots together –_

 _"Tommy even got me to steal these off my dad!"_ Laurel had interjected as she dangled a pair of handcuffs in front of their friends.

 _"– But you just had to jump the gun! But, seriously, buddy, I am happy for you guys,"_ Tommy had continued as he engulfed him and Felicity in one big hug.

Apparently, the plot even had its own mission designation " _Operation: Olicity_ ", to which he had raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Tommy had said not to blame him for the codename – it was Cisco's idea.

And after all the cheering and the greetings (and the subtlety-worded threats from Digg and Lyla) and after the joy of their friends' support had died down and after a lackluster first period of terribly one-sided hockey – the Stars had been getting possessions without much resistance from the Knights (whose goalie was the only one not sleeping on the defense) – he was inclined to agree with his friend.

With the thinking that playing their game would get everyone back into the spirit of the championships, he had finally agreed with Tommy. When put to a vote, everybody else had agreed with them so Thea and Roy stopped making more mocktails for everybody, and retrieved shot glasses and two bottles of tequila from his bar.

They had kept the rules pretty much the same except for the shot at face-off: everyone gets split into two opposing teams (last night devolved into _boys_ , who were all invested in their local team, _vs. Cisco + girls_ , since he and Lyla were pretty much hardcore Knights fans), and members have to take a shot whenever the opposing team scores a goal. In addition to that, everybody takes a shot at the end of a period and an extra shot when a fight breaks out, regardless of which team started it. The game stops only when somebody passes out or needs to lose their dinner. Since Laurel and Lyla were restricted to mocktails, Cisco had volunteered to take on their shots for their team. Digg, after consulting with the other guys, then told Cisco that he didn't need to down his own shots because he was already pulling double duty for the girls.

And so their game had begun as the second period got off to the same bland start.

Then everything had turned on its head just as they were about to down their period-ending tequila shot.

The Knights scored a goal within seconds from the end of the second period and two more early in the third, so he had downed four shots within half an hour – which for him, was never a good thing. Meanwhile, the Stars, who remained scoreless in the second period after scoring a goal in the middle of the first, successfully converted two attempts on goal in the last 5 minutes of the game. The Knights were rightfully frustrated at having lost their lead and after one inadvertent but hard foul, a fight broke out not long after the equalizing goal. He had been woozy by that fifth shot, to say the least. He had to applaud Cisco, though, because when the Stars finally took the lead and the championship in the remaining minute of play, the guy had downed a total of eight full shots in near rapid succession, before he winked out in front of the lot of them.

By the time Digg had gotten to where Cisco lay, Oliver already had a very drunk, and a _very_ handsy Felicity to contend with (' _This is all well and good, Felicity, but you told me to behave and I'm sticking with it_ ' – her earlier request and a few choice words from both Lyla and Digg made him determined to keep it in his pants – but only until both he and Felicity were free to do something about it) while Barry tried to handle an inebriated and babbly Caitlin, who had been adorably propositioning the flustered speedster for 'his own good' (He will never un-hear her say ' _Promise me, Barry, this time, you'll have a long good look at my goods… it's for your own good'_ to his rapidly and prominently blushing friend). Roy, meanwhile, was trying – and failing – to extricate himself from the clutches of a tipsy Thea, who had been licking him all over his face.

Nobody had really stayed long after the game. Suffice it to say that by the end of hockey night, Felicity had never really gotten to use her Loud Voice because by the time Digg finally got Cisco halfway up to the couch, she was already asleep and snoring in his arms – or on his lap, if he was going to be really precise.

He smiled a little at the memory. He had offered his penthouse to everyone, saying that he certainly had the space should they feel like crashing in his place for the night. Everyone was quick to decline, with Tommy saying that it was always better to wake up from a bender in some place that was more familiar. Everybody seemed to agree but he suspected that having witnessed him and Felicity earlier had made them want to give the new couple alone time – which he had been and still was grateful for, really.

So, plans had been made about who went home with whom. Tommy would be driving home with Laurel. Roy would be walking Thea back to her own place half a block down the street. Digg said that he would be leaving the Suburban's keys at Oliver's foyer table and hitching a ride with Lyla. It was then that Oliver had realized that he didn't really know where his Central City friends were crashing.

 _"How about you guys?"_ He had asked Barry.

 _"Oh, Felicity let us crash with her every now and then. I have a key."_

 _"Wait, you have a key to her place?"_ Roy asked.

 _"They totally kissed,"_ Cisco, who was still half on the floor and half on the couch, snorted from out of the blue.

 _"Oh my God! Did you kiss her before he did?"_ Thea tittered as her attention was diverted from Roy to Barry and her brother.

 _Barry didn't have to answer. His hotly blushing face told everything._

 _"Speedy."_ Oliver intoned, warning his sister to play nice.

 _"You know, he should be the one you call Speedy. He's a speedster, has kissed your girlfriend and already has a key to her place,"_ Thea said petulantly toward the general direction of his voice, as she ticked off all her reasons on her fingers.

 _"Speedy!"_ Oliver chastised her again.

 _"Not Speed-y! Bar-ry!"_ Thea countered, clearly trying to indicate with woozy hands that his ire should be redirected from her to the other guy.

 _"You totally kissed her before I did. And it was one kiss – a quick one and it didn't really mean anything,"_ Barry babbled defensively to fill the silence, _"and she totally didn't make those kissy noises she was making earlier with you and – I'm just going to stop now,"_ he said as he avoided Oliver's eyes.

Thankfully, Lyla had interrupted just as the awkward pause began to stretch, _"Come on, Barry. Johnny and I will help you guys home."_

And with that, everybody had gotten ready to leave.

Just as he was about to make a move to usher everyone to the door as they bade their goodbyes – Digg carrying Cisco like a sack of flour over his shoulder, with Tommy and Laurel on standby, Barry with a handful of Caitlin, Roy with Thea on piggyback and Lyla, who was bringing up the rear – Felicity, sensing his imminent departure, had curled more into his embrace and settled her weight fully unto him. Lyla had caught the movement and told him not to bother standing, that she'll arm the security system and lock the door once she got everybody else out. After shouting his thanks to all his friends who were then going into the lobby outside, telling them to check in with him when they got home and after another round of hasty goodbyes, he had finally been left alone with Felicity.

On any other day, he would have been able to get Felicity off him without batting an eyelash, but having had five shots of premium-grade tequila did a number on him. Felicity's position essentially boxed him into the couch and he couldn't really move without the room spinning, so he had just sat there, cradling her on his lap. Roy had called not ten minutes later saying that he and Thea had made it to her loft just down the street okay. Tommy had also called soon after, reporting that he and Laurel had gotten home fine. He had heard from Digg and Lyla, twice within the next half hour: once, when they got Barry, Caitlin and Cisco settled at Felicity's, and again when they were safely home themselves.

With all those out of the way, he considered what he would be doing next. Not really being able to move freely and not really wanting to since he liked having Felicity on him, he had decided that they would be spending the night on his couch – it was a good thing then that he had bought the daybed that Thea insisted was just a big sectional because he now had enough space for him and his armful of blonde. So with the very last bit of his strength, he had repositioned Felicity to lie on the couch, laid her head on a cushion and took her shoes off, before he slipped of his own and bunked down beside her. They had slept like that until he woke up about seven hours later, still with an armful of the sleeping blonde, before he finally relocated both of them to his bed upstairs.

The fact that it was the first time he had slept through the night in so long really didn't register with him because he was busy focusing on his memories of her – the way she had curled up into him, the way she had smelled.

It was really tempting to go back to bed with her just as he laid her on his bed for the second time but he feared that he may never get up again, with the way his body was complaining. So he made his way down to his gym and tried to work off his own hangover but couldn't get through more than a few reps on the salmon ladder. Rather than risk a fall, he opted instead to start making breakfast – brunch really, if he was going to be strict about it.

He forgot about the Skittles and the stale popcorn that littered the entrance to his kitchen until he almost slipped on the floor when some of those hazards got caught under his foot. Thinking that he didn't need a hungover Felicity falling over the same stuff, he went to where Raisa kept her cleaning supplies and retrieved the vacuum.

Oliver Queen thought he'd never see the day when he was doing this himself and here he was – _God – was he growing up or what_ , he thought to himself. This was one thing he could add to his list of life skills. After having tracked Raisa down and after having charmed and coaxed her out of retirement to work for him three days out of every week, the older woman had told him that he needed to get a couple of things down because she wouldn't be available forever. And so he had submitted himself to a crash course of the essentials under the tutelage of his housekeeper just days after he closed escrow on the apartment.

And now here he was vacuuming his own floor and though he won't admit it to just anyone, it felt great. He got into the rhythm easily and was done in no time. Once he was convinced that he'd gotten all of it, he stashed away the vacuum and made his way back to his kitchen, ready to tackle another life skill that Raisa insisted was a must.

 _Next stop, brunch_.

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Thanks to all those who've commented and liked and followed this work! Your support has been tremendous. This oneshot has evolved into a multi-chap fic so I hope you guys continue to follow this story. Don't forget to leave your comments and reviews! They are always welcome! Kisses! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Oh, dear. The fluff may have gotten away from me. Anyway, I hope it's all good stuff so I'll leave you to it. As usual, this story is not beta'd, all mistakes are mine, faves/follows/reviews/comments are always appreciated! I don't own Arrow/Flash. No copyright infringement intended. XOXO

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Chapter 3

 _Yes. Her name on his lips. His mouth on her fingers. Yes! Chocolate. Wine. Tongue. Delicious friction at her core, rubbing, building pleasure. Goosebumps all over her skin. Felicity, he says. His scent infiltrating her senses. His hardness against her yielding flesh. Please, her body screamed._

 _She was begging him for release. Kissing him like she needed him to breathe. She was getting into the rhythm now. Her hips against his. And yet the image shifted as she opened her eyes to Roy's incredulous expression._

 _"Really? Really? I just got him off my back as the disapproving brother, and you just had to promote him to disapproving dad?! Are you kidding me?"_

 _"Wait, what? Oh my God! Is she pregnant?" Thea threw the question to Roy… then quickly to her, "Are you pregnant? Am I becoming an aunt? Tommy!" She screamed. "Ollie's got a baby mama!"_

 _No, no, no, no, no!_

Felicity screamed herself awake, to the jarring reality of a throbbing headache and a queasy stomach.

She leaned back, sinking against the soft pillows as she tried to get her bearings straight after a particularly horrible end to what started out as a promising fantasy. Her name was Felicity Meghan Smoak. She was 25 years old. Today was a Fri – Saturday. And she was _not_ Oliver Queen's baby mama! But she was in his bed, _not_ naked under his sheets –

 _Well, not yet,_ her naughty inner voice quipped. _Shut up_ , she told herself. _What the hell are you doing, Felicity?_ The more rational part of her brain asked.

She wasn't completely hammered last night, at least when she and Oliver had spoken in the kitchen. He had asked for a chance and she had decided to give it to him. She was scared, really scared but he had opened up to her and laid himself bare. So, she was giving him a fair shake. She was giving them the opportunity to start. This was real. She was not going to borrow trouble. She was allowing the chips to fall where they may.

With her resolve renewed, she began to run through the events of last night. Queen Incorporated's opening gala went well. Oliver had opted to stay on the board instead of actively seeking the CEO position, saying that he might as well take the time to learn things he should've the first time around instead of vying for a position he was not remotely qualified for. He still owned controlling interest but elected to leave the day-to-day to more qualified personnel. And she had supported him on that. It was great seeing him relaxed, enjoying himself in an environment he had previously only endured for the sake of appearances.

It also made her heart soar, the way he was now, when he was surrounded by his friends – friends, really, instead of just allies – reclaiming some levity in the wake of so much darkness in his life. The way he allowed himself a measure of comfort and allowed himself to be vulnerable enough to let her in… _and let himself be caught dry humping her in his kitchen by none other than his sister_ . Her mind sped through that memory, reminded of her earlier chagrin at having been discovered in a compromising position. Then, there was a shower of rainbow-colored Skittles and salted popcorn, and happy cheers from their friends and family, except from Roy, who did say the line from her dream. _Oh, Frack!_ She said to herself as another memory assailed her. _Did she try to get her hands down Oliver's pants at one point in the evening? And after she had wrung a promise from him to behave? She did, she totally did. She may have even pawed him, straddled him and licked the vee of his neck after tequila shot #4 – and all in plain view of his last remaining relative and the people she considered their closest friends!_

Now mortified by her returning memories, she chased away her shame by jumping away from Oliver's bed and powering through the complaints of her crapulous headache. It was still there, though to a slightly less assertive degree compared to the one she had before Oliver urged her to take some aspirin.

That was when she remembered how patient and gentle he had been with her this morning. After all the crap she pulled on him last night?

Her embarrassment made her want to crawl back into bed but, no, she was going to be a brave little miss, she was going to face her… her Oliver, apologize for all the aggravation she'd caused and maybe fix him breakfast.

With that decision made, she retrieved his discarded dress shirt from the floor, sniffed it for feasibility of use, found it suitable, proceeded to change into it, and left the bedroom with nary a second look.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

With breakfast on the kitchen counter and the coffeemaker humming along, Oliver was just about to make his way back up to check on Felicity, when he found her sitting at the foot of the stairs, hugging the banister.

"I was just on my way to check up on you," he said as he noticed that she had changed from her rumpled party dress into last night's dress shirt. Her hair was a mess and she still hadn't taken her make-up off but to him, she still looked fetching, especially when she was wearing his shirt. It looked good on her.

His stomach wasn't done swooping, when her voice broke the moment.

"Well, I decided to be brave and go on living," she said, still hugging the post as if her life depended on it.

He chuckled and then teased, "Not quite there yet, are we?"

She huffed at that but still didn't let go. The truth was, even without fighting a dizzy spell courtesy of a giant hangover that's wreaking havoc on her brain and her equilibrium, making her way down the stairs without either her contacts or her glasses had been more than a little treacherous. She forgot that she had already taken out her lenses last night (after salt from the popcorn refused to leave her eyes) and only realized it halfway down the stairs. She didn't really have the energy to make it all the way back up so she continued to brave her descent. It would've helped if Oliver didn't have such an affinity for glass. If there was one thing she hated about his place, it was that the stairs were made of the transparent material. She was safer with her eyes closed, proceeding down the steps in an awkward crouch guided by touch alone.

"Where were you planning to start _on_ _living_?" He asked as he referenced her off-handed quip.

"The kitchen," she said before she took a deep breath and tested her resolve to do just that.

"There are only a few steps left. Want help?" Judging from how near his earnest voice sounded, she knew he had taken a few steps towards her and was actually now sitting on the step beside her. The warmth that radiated from him was to a degree she knew could only spawn from his being shirtless.

 _Shirtless Oliver. Oh, what she wouldn't give to sneak a peek._ But her dizzy spell was clearly not yet done with her, so she stayed in place. "Could you give me a minute?"

He just held her hand and waited silently at her side.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

"You made breakfast!" She said a little incredulously when they finally made it to the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's one of the few things I know how to do around the house," Oliver deadpanned at her disbelief, "Juice?"

"No!" She said adamantly as the sunburst color of his liquid offering distracted her fluttery heart. "My head starts to hurt more just by looking at it," she appended gently before she asked him hopefully for coffee.

"Still brewing," he answered without missing a beat. He laid down a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich, eggs and bacon slabs on the side in front of her before he settled in beside her with his own plate and started digging in.

She fidgeted with her food, not really feeling up to it. The grilled sandwich had hot, melted cheese oozing at the seams. On any other day, she'd be scarfing it down but not today, since the rich cheddar color made her eyes twitch and her stomach roll. The eggs were perfect and a little too sunny for her liking. The yolks were of a very cheery sort of orange yellow that her brain was not yet ready to process. _These eggs are mocking me._

"Felicity," she heard Oliver say exasperatedly.

She didn't mean to say that one out loud. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say it out loud. It's just that all of these are too orange, they're too bright – it hurts my eyes."

"Then start on the bacon instead, it's red," he suggested after he contemplated the contents of her plate and saw the only option left. "Just hang on a little. The coffee will be ready soon," he promised before he went back to his own plate, which was already incredibly half finished.

She was just starting on her second slab, chewing absently, when he placed her cup of coffee near her plate. Realizing quickly – by the delicious color in her cup – that he'd already mixed in her requisite amount of creamer and probably sugar, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled his face into hers, laying several grateful kisses on his lips.

"I'm sorry for behaving like a baby. I guess I've just never experienced a proper hangover until now," she apologized as she hid her face on the crook of his neck. "How can I thank you for taking care of me?" She asked, remembering her earlier plan.

"Don't worry about it, Felicity," he said as he settled into her awkward embrace. "What I said last night – it includes getting you through any current and future hangovers," He assured her as he placed a soothing hand on her nape. "But if you really want to thank me, make this easier on yourself by finishing your bacon, an egg and at least two big bites of your grilled cheese. Think you could do that for me?"

"You're really pulling that card?" She asked, lifting her head from his shoulder, only to get a roguish smirk from him in return. "Okay, but only since it's you asking," she puffed as she turned a very valiant face on her overly bright food.

They spent the next few minutes in silence, before Oliver stood from the counter, having finished eating. He was drinking his coffee by the sink when Felicity turned and faced what to her was the most distracting part of his anatomy – his abs, with that perfectly sculpted Adonis belt and that happy trail that she'd always hoped would lead to her happy endings, framed against almost indecently slung sweat pants… _Breathe, Felicity!_ She could almost forget she had a whopper of a headache. She might not have had her contacts, but he was close enough for her to see in good resolution. _Oh, Lordy._ _Nobody can blame a woman – any woman, really – for staring, for wanting to touch and… and lick… and…_

"Fe-li-ci-ty!" The sound of his voice redirected her keen gaze to his face, "You're supposed to be chewing," he said with a flustered edge to his voice.

 _…and for forgetting that she was supposed to be chewing her bacon. Damn!_ She blushed at having been caught and diverted her eyes from him as her color intensified.

It was one of his favorite things, seeing her blush. But he was having a difficult time tamping down his reaction to her, especially when he was sure that she really didn't know that she had spoken her thoughts out loud. Now his brain was stuck on the notion of her licking him! And his body was screaming at him to let her do it!

He was trying to be a gentleman, trying real _hard_ because _he already was,_ and if he ended up having to see and hear her lust over him while wearing his shirt over her warm, inviting body for one more frickin' minute, he would forget that they were both nursing hangovers and would just as soon throw her on the kitchen counter and have his way with her. So before he could let his baser urges overrule him, he deposited his empty coffee cup on the sink and promptly left the kitchen. "I'll be at the gym, if you need me," he called out.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

"Feeling better?" Oliver inquired just as he saw Felicity contemplate her next destination after finishing her breakfast.

He was making his way to his living room from his gym, in the midst of pulling a shirt over his torso. He needed some distance and as much clothing between them as possible. Hence, putting the shirt he had discarded before his pitiful salmon ladder attempt back on.

"A little, but I still feel like I got kicked by a kangaroo," she answered, eyeing him from across the room.

"Maybe a shower will help?"

"That sounds good but I don't have any clothes here," she said as she continued to track his movements with her eyes.

"You still have a go bag in your car, right?" He asked, moving towards his couch to find her purse. He was keeping himself from looking at her. He could feel her eyes on him, doing that lusty thing again.

"I'm not sure if I still have anything decent left to wear in that duffel."

"Still worth a try," he said when he handed her clutch over. "Where'd you park?" _Keep your eyes on her bag, Mister. No staring back at her._

"Your space. Well, one of yours, the one farthest from the elevator," she corrected as she retrieved her keys and handed them to him.

"Got it. Now, go start your shower," he prodded as he palmed her keys and nudged her towards the stairs, "so that I could follow you… after you're done." He said, catching himself just in time to cover up his inadvertently spoken desire. He had taken a couple of steps towards the door when her hesitant voice made him face her for the first time since the conversation began.

Felicity noticed that he was avoiding her eyes, and she knew it had something to do with her staring at him in the kitchen. And she understood him wanting to keep some distance – she may have flagrantly crossed the line into creepy stalker mode – but she really needed help with the stairs so she worked through the awkwardness and asked.

"Um, Oliver, I hate to be a bother but I can't really see the steps. No contacts," she hurried over her shy confession. She felt herself beginning to blush at his gaze, still mortified by their earlier kitchen encounter, so she shut her eyes before saying, "But – um – I can totally wait for you to get back and help me up – Uunnnh…" She groaned when an abrupt change in position jostled her brain. She realized after a beat that Oliver had picked her up bridal style and had her securely in his arms.

"Are you okay?" He held her closer to him as he felt her shudder when he started moving up the stairs. "I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner. I shouldn't have assumed… since you made it down…"

She held onto him tighter, partly to interrupt his worry-tinged, guilt-ridden babble, but mostly in relief at his renewed attention. "It's fine, Oliver, really. I'm okay now," she assured him as she laid her forehead on the side of his jaw. _B_ _ut_ _next time,_ _a little heads up would be nice before you go sweeping me off my feet and rocking my whole world,_ her rational inner voice testily grumbled, even as her naughty counterpart was already floating on cloud nine, remorselessly doing its own drunken but passable version of a celebratory fist pump.


	4. Chapter 4

Ready for some teasing and flirty sexytimes? How 'bout some Jealous!Oliver? Sure hope you guys are, so I'll leave you to it. As always, this work is not beta'd, all mistakes are mine. no copyright infringement is intended and comments/reviews/faves/follows are always welcome! XOXO

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Chapter 4

After Oliver showed her to the bathroom, taught her how to work his shower, gave her fresh towels, and left her to get her bag, Felicity spent some time exploring. Since the haze of her hangover had been somewhat cleared by her morning coffee, her curiosity was piqued. She wanted to know if the obsessive-compulsive tendencies Oliver displayed in the Foundry extended into his more private domains.

 _She should've known._ His bathroom was immaculate, almost sterile, with everything, except for the chrome fixtures and the gleaming mirror, done up in white. She almost didn't want to step on the tiled floor, fearing that she might tarnish its showroom appeal.

Not really wanting to start her shower yet, since she didn't want to mess the place up, she started snooping around his shelves and cabinets. His towels, which were monogrammed and uniformly folded, were arranged by size and sorted by color on an exposed shelf. The laundry hamper beneath that shelf was filled with a couple of days' worth of soiled clothes – which were segregated into whites and colors but which, she was very glad to see, were dumped and not folded. His toothbrush, shaving set and grooming kit were concealed behind his mirror. His medicine chest, which was cleverly hidden below his sink, contained a veritable supply of medications (alphabetized by row on the leftmost cabinet – she checked!), dressings, and basic medical equipment. His toiletries, which from the looks of it belonged to the same brand, lined an open shelf by the shower. She was just about to start opening bottles and begin sniffing to search for the product responsible for his addicting scent when she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Felicity, I've got your bag," Oliver said.

She made her way to the door and opened it a fraction. "Thanks." She squeezed his wrist before she got her bag and closed the door. She quickly brought the duffel to the bathroom counter, inspected it and gratefully saw that she had packed a set of her own toiletries in it. _Yes! Shower time!_

xxxxXXXXxxxx

After having taken her time reveling under the spray of relaxing hot water, she went back to her go-bag and dug into it, cataloging its contents. She had been pillaging it during the run-up to QI's launch, having had to pull a series of all-nighters, trying to get all the firewalls and cyber-sentries up. She found clean underwear (Thank God!), her long unseen panda flats (So that's where they went!), a pair of black leggings and a heavy jacket. Unfortunately, there were no tops.

"Oliver? You there?" She called out from behind the bathroom door.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I still need a clean shirt. Any old one of yours will do."

Oliver didn't really know how he was going to survive that, but he went into his closet to start looking for one anyway. He had already wanted to jump her multiple times and had been preventing himself all morning from kissing her after having seen her walk around in one of his white shirts. _Maybe if he lent her one that he didn't particularly like_ , he thought. So, he rummaged through his closet and found the box where he kept the stuff he would be donating to the Salvation Army and randomly picked one shirt up. He got a blue gingham shirt that had big bold checks – a gift from Laurel, who evidently didn't know that he had preferred quieter ones with smaller, finer lines. With the shirt in hand, he knocked once again on his bathroom door and handed Felicity his ugly button-down.

Felicity studied the shirt Oliver gave to her. It was going to be big but it would have to do. The shirt had transformed her into a shapeless mass when it swallowed up her torso, so she rolled up the sleeves and used a couple of strategically placed hair clips to cinch the waist. She could do nothing to raise the hem so she let it be. Convinced that the hemline was longer than most of her skirts, she forwent her leggings, opting to give her legs the time to dry completely before donning the oppressive black bottoms. She didn't want to add to the sticky feeling the heat and humidity outside would surely bring.

"I'm done. Shower's yours," she said as she emerged from the bathroom, not really seeing Oliver as she toweled her unruly hair dry.

Oliver was speechless at the sight that greeted him. Felicity was again wearing one of his shirts – and one he didn't like – and worked wonders with it. And saying that it was a few sizes too big for her was an understatement, _because_ even if the cuffs were folded up to where his elbows supposedly were, it still fell somewhere in the middle of her forearms. And the hem, _good God_ , fell halfway down her long, shapely, and from the looks of it, very smooth legs. And the vigorous toweling motion she had going threatened to reveal more of those legs, as the hem of his shirt flirted with the tops of her thighs.

"Hmmm?" He didn't hear a word she had said.

"It's your turn. I just hope I didn't use up all of your hot water," she replied as she stopped toweling her head and threw all her hair back from her face – and _that_ just about slayed him.

He had seen her transform from fully made-up to grumpy and hungover in the last 24 hours, and still he'd thought her pretty. He had always found her pretty. But all of those times he had stared at her in the past never prepared him to see her fresh from the shower, her face devoid of make-up and any and all signs of a booze-filled party night. She was beautiful, her skin radiant and glowing and he couldn't help but be a little bit breathless.

She continued staring at him, expecting him to get a move on, so he had to force himself to take a deep breath and speak.

"No problem. I have a dedicated heating system throughout this whole level," he said lamely, as he quickly made his way to his bathroom in an attempt to cover up his rapidly developing _situation_.

If he thought he had escaped his enchantment when he scurried into his shower away from her, he couldn't have been more wrong. As soon as he closed the bathroom door, he was assaulted by everything _her_ – her essence, her lingering warmth and her scent, which he thought was citrusy, vibrant and… and happy – and he just found his face breaking into a big, genuine, honest-to-God smile.

He chuckled at himself despite his earlier aggravation. This had to be the first time in his entire life that he had found himself grinning like an idiot in spite of the raging hard-on he had gotten while running away from the very object of his affection. He just shook his head in amusement as he leaned his head back against the door, allowing the unexpected joy of the moment to wash over him.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Oliver could've used the concealed connecting door in his bathroom to access his walk-in closet but he wanted - no needed - to get Felicity as frustrated as he was just before he jumped into the shower. Her unwittingly sexy display had him tied up in knots. She shouldn't have worried about using up the hot water because he hadn't needed a single drop. His shower was a cold one through and through - and it had just managed to take the edge off. With a naughty plan in mind, he went back into his room, wet hair and all, with nothing but a towel that slung low on his hips, just as she seemed to like it.

Payback's a bitch, apparently – but only to him because he opened his bathroom door to see Felicity, lying across his bed, facing the wall away from him, with a leg raised to the ceiling, flexing her toes while she spoke to someone on the phone.

It didn't bother him that he knew the exact color of the polish that boldly painted the nails of her wiggling toes (Candy-apple red – he used to paint Thea's stubby toes with it a very long time ago – _don't ask!_ ); what did bother him was seeing that long creamy leg up in the air, with only the scant material of his shirt shadowing the apex of her thighs. His breath fled him as all sound was replaced by the hammering of his pulse. The arousal he had just barely controlled with a cold shower came back in full force.

 _Get a grip, Oliver!_ He admonished himself. _Yes, hers!_ An incensed voice in the back of his mind hollered.

Willfully ignoring his vexed inner voice, he made himself take a couple of steadying breaths. And when sound finally found his ears again, he caught snippets of the conversation she was having.

"Yes, Barry. Right there… Great! Yes! I'm coming, Barry…" He overheard her say into the phone to Barry. _The very same Barry who had kissed his girl… Barry, who has a key to his, his Felicity's apartment... Barry, with whom she was having what sounded to him like – like phone sex, when she was lying on his bed and wearing his shirt._ He felt his temper flaring. _No one gets to do that with her but him – only him._ He was unable to keep himself from slamming the bathroom door shut. He was jealous and upset and didn't want to hear another word.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

"Are you sure you have any of your good coffee left? Caitlin will kill me if I don't have a cup brewing. I may have woken her up too soon. Is it here in your cupboard?" Barry panicked over the phone. He had called Felicity just now and she stubbed her toe at the foot of the bed trying to get to her phone from where she stood. She had been expecting his call since she had promised to bring the whole Central City crew to the Botanical Gardens that day.

"Yes, Barry. Right there," she confirmed, after she brought her leg up and flexed her toes, inspecting her appendage for any damage and finding none.

"Got it! Wait, how do you sound so not wasted? How has your morning gone?"

"Great!" She said with a smile in her voice, forgetting her mishap while remembering how Oliver had given her one of the best mornings of her life, despite the now dull throbbing in her skull.

"I'm glad to hear that at least one of us is having a great morning. Anyway, since Caitlin's finally up, we're getting ready now, as we speak. She said that we need to be in the Botanical Gardens in an hour-and-a-half to catch the last few minutes of Dr. Woodrue's talk. You're coming over soon right? "

"Yes! I'm coming Barry." Then she heard a door slam. "Ooh, Oliver's done. See you later. Bye, Barry!" Felicity quickly ended the call then rolled over to her stomach, just to be greeted with the sight of a barefoot, half-naked, dripping wet Oliver Queen. _Holy mother of Google! How was she supposed to keep her eyes off him if he insisted on being shirtless?_

"Hey!" she greeted him as she raised herself up to sit on the bed, struggling to keep her eyes focused above his neck. She didn't want him awkwardly avoiding her again. "What are your plans for today?"

"I was hoping to spend the day with you," he said, shifting on his feet as he remained standing by the bathroom door. "But if you'd rather spend it with Barry…"

"Wait, what?" She asked as she stepped off the bed and made her way over to him.

He averted his eyes from hers as she came closer. "I heard you making plans with Barry," he said, trying to hide the jealousy in his voice.

"I wanted to spend the day with you too," she explained as she walked towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders, "and I was planning on dragging you back to my house and to the Botanical Gardens, but only because I promised Barry, Caitlin and Cisco that I would bring them there. They said it would help with a case they're working." Worried that he was shutting her out, she cradled his face with her palms and turned him to look at her, "Then I'm all yours after. What do you say?"

Oliver shivered at the promise in her voice and the assurance in her eyes. _His. She was his._

"Okay," he conceded, when he realized that he hadn't given her an answer.

"Yeah?" She smiled.

"Yes!" He returned her smile as he brought her closer to him and finally gave her the kiss he had wanted to give her ever since he saw her wearing his shirt.

Felicity allowed him to take his fill, letting him taste her until he overcame his diffidence and was sure enough of her desire to keep him close. But when it looked like he was never going to stop, she murmured, "Oliver, we have to get going," between her answering kisses.

"Not yet," he snapped and took advantage of her surprise at his retort to deepen the kiss. She moaned when he ghosted the tip of his tongue along the roof of her mouth and shifted her hands to the back of his head for a better grip, as she matched his ardor. They kissed each other hotly just like that, with greedy mouths and needier hands, until he broke it, needing to breathe. "Come to bed with me, Felicity," he whispered, while catching his breath – their plans of an afternoon in the gardens forgotten. "I promise, you can lick me, wherever you want," he bribed her as his hands, which, until then had been tracing warm, languid lines against her back, traveled downward to cup her bottom and bring her flush against his straining need.

She leaned into him, resting her head against his chest, breathless, hearing just every other word he said over the thundering clamor of her pulse. With his whispered incentives and her body being intimately pressed against him, she felt her resolve begin to waver. Seduced by his drugging nearness and by her heightened arousal, she was just about to give into him when a loud alarm issued from her phone.

 _Activity Alert: Botanical Gardens – CC crew_ , the display read.

With the sensuous spell broken by the urgent reminder, she regretfully sighed as she framed his face with her hands. "As much as I'd like to do all that with you, Oliver, we're already running late."

"Your loss," he taunted as he relaxed his grip on her and kissed her forehead.

"I know," she groused, when she finally but grudgingly extricated herself from his arms.

Oliver smirked at her dejected reaction, feeling smug as he turned around to head into his closet. And knowing that she had her eyes on him, he threw off his towel just as he took that last step, treating Felicity to the sight of what he knew women considered his very fine ass. He snickered at her gasped breath as he kicked his closet door shut on her without a backward glance.

"Oliver Jonas Queen!" She shouted through the door when she had recovered, "So not fair!"

xxxxXXXXxxxx

With Oliver finally getting ready, Felicity decided to spend some time on her phone checking out traffic updates and alternate routes before she started getting dressed. They had to be at the gardens in an hour and 20 minutes and they were bound to meet some Saturday traffic along the way. It would take 15 minutes to get from Oliver's place to hers in mild traffic and another 25 minutes to get to the gardens. She wanted a few minutes to change into lighter clothing when she got to her apartment so she added that to the tally. If her friends wanted a quick bite then that would take up another fifteen minutes. Minutes ticked by as she finalized their route so by the time she had slipped on her leggings and started fixing her hair, she and Oliver had about 10 minutes left before they had to leave.

She was just about to tie the first knot on the makeshift headband she had made from one of Oliver's neckties when she felt his arms around her waist.

"Ready?" He whispered into her ear as he hugged her from behind.

"Just about and don't think I won't get you back for that little stunt you pulled, Mr. Queen," she warned, still a little miffed at him, as she tied the final knot on her bow. Despite her irritation, she settled back into his warmth and held unto his arm lightly as she toed into her panda flats.

"I know," he acknowledged mischievously, just as his fingers splayed over her stomach to press her deeper into his embrace. Her breathe caught as she felt herself buck into his hand. "I'm actually looking forward to it, Ms. Smoak," he said – his voice now dark and laced with an almost predatory heat. He kissed her head then and before she could even blink, he had turned her around to face him, his eyes playful and innocent, as if he hadn't just gotten her all hot and bothered. "Try this on," he said as he slipped a pair of aviators on her.

Oliver couldn't help but laugh as he saw Felicity tip her face up on reflex and wiggle her nose to keep the sunglasses from falling off as soon as he let go.

"These are a little too dark… and a little too big," she said as the cold wire frame failed to find a solid perch on the bridge of her nose. She had belatedly caught it with her hands, then only realizing what had happened since she was still reeling from his abrupt switch from playful banter to sensual teasing and back again.

"You'll need something to protect your eyes from the sun," he said as he took the shades from her and adjusted the temples and earpieces, bending them inward to better hug her face. "How about now?" He asked as he replaced them on her.

"Better," she answered after the glasses stayed in place when she bobbed her head a couple of times. "Thanks," she beamed at him.

"No problem. Come on, let's go," he smiled as he held her hand and began to lead her out the door.

"Wait, I haven't finished packing up my stuff yet," she said, stopping when she remembered her messy go-bag in the bathroom.

"Leave it. We'll deal with it later. We're going to be late," he said as he urgently tugged her hand.

Felicity hurriedly took her purse from the edge of the bed before he could pull her farther away from it. "Someone's in a hurry," she teased, when she fell into step with him near the head of the stairs.

"Well, the sooner we get this done, the sooner I get you to myself, so…" he said as he quickly scooped her up and gently rushed her – half-squealing, half-giggling – down the stairs.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

"You okay?" Oliver asked as he guided Felicity from the elevator to his underground parking bay, which was actually a set of five parking lanes in a secluded area of the residential garage. Felicity had been laughing when he'd put her down as they waited for the elevator at the penthouse lobby but had fallen silent just as they descended.

"I'm fine. Just a little queasy. Elevators and I really don't mix right now," she said as she walked gingerly beside him.

There was an array of vehicles available to them: Felicity's Mini, his Ducati Diavel, a Chevy Suburban from the QI fleet which Digg left the night before, and his new personal BMW X5. And with three more passengers, busy streets and limited parking ahead of them, he decided to break-in his new SUV. "It'll pass once you get settled," he said as he directed her towards the sporty black vehicle.

"Oliver, my car's over there," she remarked, training her sights on the red Mini Cooper a few lanes over.

"I know, but mine's already here. And since you're in no shape to drive, get in," he countered as he helped her into the passenger seat before crossing over to the driver's side.

"Eeew… Still has that _new car smell_ ," she said as her face scrunched up. She had already buckled herself in and shut her door when the nauseating odor invaded her nose and caused her already queasy stomach to lurch.

Having caught her sickened expression, he sniffed the air as he got in and caught a whiff of the unwanted odor. Apparently, traces of the scent still lingered even if he'd ventilated and wiped the interiors down the day before. "Here," he said, retrieving a bottle from the center console and giving it to her, "spray it wherever." He belted himself into his seat as she did just that.

Anxious to be rid of the unpleasant smell, Felicity hurriedly put the spray bottle to use. Her stomach quieted almost immediately, having been distracted by the clean, calming fragrance that surrounded her. It took her a moment to recognize the scent as Oliver's, though she thought that it definitely smelled better on his skin. She flipped the bottle and tried to make out the label. _Muschio Bianco_ it read. _Hmmm, just like his shampoo and body wash,_ she thought. She brought the nozzle to her nose and breathed deeply. _She could get high on this._

"All good?" Oliver inquired, laying a hand on her knee, interrupting the silence that settled upon them.

"All good," she sighed as she felt the heady rush of euphoric calm permeate her being just as soon as his scent had hit her brain. _Definitely all good._

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this! Anyway, I posted this chapter a day early because I've hit a snag with the next chapter and I need suggestions from you guys. Since I'm not really well-versed with flowers, I need you to answer this question: If Felicity had a favorite flower, what would it be and why? PM me your answers and I'll send you a sneak peek into Chapter 5. Thanks for reading! Kisses! Ooh, and Happy 4th of July to those in the US!


	5. Chapter 5

Yay! Another early chapter! I've been pounding hard this past week because I want this whole thing finished early. At this pace, I'll be (hopefully) able to finish writing a lot of what I've come up with for this universe before I start working again next month. Anyway, a shoutout to all those who made flower suggestions last week! Some of your floral preferences are making cameos in this chapter. So I'll let you get to it. Enjoy! Oh and the usual stuff: This work is not beta'd, all mistakes are mine, no copyright infringement is intended, and faves/follows/reviews/comments are always welcome! XOXO

* * *

Chapter 5

Even with the best traffic app (and, ahem, a re-tasked satellite) guiding their way through city traffic, it was still taking them way longer than usual to get to her place. Felicity had blown through most of her alternate routes and was fighting off the temptation to hack into the metropolitan traffic grid with just her phone when Oliver gently reached for her hand. She didn't even notice that they were idling at a traffic stop just two blocks from the turn-off leading to her apartment.

"Hey," he said, urging her to look up from her phone. She had been muttering at it for the past ten minutes. "Ease up a bit," he said when she finally met his eyes, "See, clear roads." He pointed out the windshield with his other hand to let her see the relatively lighter traffic ahead of them.

She looked out to where he was pointing and let out a breath. She had wound herself up for nothing. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just so used to guiding you guys through traffic better."

"Well, this is a long way from having to make a quick getaway with people on our tail, Felicity, so don't sweat it," he reassured her as he lightly ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

After silently contemplating him and reveling in the warmth that reached all the way to her heart, she asked him point blank, "Can just _this_ be ever enough for you?" It was a loaded question, she knew, but it was one she needed answered _pronto_.

Oliver was caught off-guard by her pointed question. Then again, it wouldn't be her if she hadn't asked. "What do you mean?" He stalled, letting go of her hand in favor of the steering wheel, lucky that the light had just turned green.

"This not running around, not being the Arrow, this… this boring, pedestrian life?"

 _As long as I'm with you_ , his brain said. He managed to prevent himself from blurting that out by biting his tongue. Felicity might take it the wrong way and think that it all hung on her. She had been skittish enough to bolt yesterday and regardless of what he would have liked to think, that just doesn't change overnight despite their recent progress. He knew that, but he also had to be honest with her somehow. "I don't know, Felicity, not until I've really tried. I've never really been pedestrian," he paused then declared, "but I'm glad that I get to be boring with you." He winced internally at the wholly unoriginal line his brain came up with. _But it's the truth_ , a voice in his head protested. He spared her a quick glance then, hoping to get a read on her reaction.

She blinked twice, _probably in disbelief_ , he thought as he diverted his attention back to the road. Then she snorted, "Did you just drop some cheeseball line on me?"

He chuckled at her remark, relieved. "Yeah, I guess… I guess I did. Have a problem with that?"

"It's hard to believe, but no, none at all. Granted, it's cheesy, and you can definitely work on it," she teased as she laid a playful hand on his bicep. She sobered right then, and gently squeezed his arm before she added, "But I know you meant it."

She hadn't said anything about her believing it but the acknowledgement that she had heard him was enough for now. _It had to be_ , he reminded himself, because he was the one with something to prove. He had given her nothing but empty words in the past and had hurt her in the process. And because he couldn't say anything past the sudden, guilty lump in his throat, he laid his other hand on top of hers and squeezed, before he let go, gripping the wheel with both hands, as he continued to drive them towards her place.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

It didn't take them long after that to reach Felicity's street-level apartment. Oliver had stopped right outside and swept his eyes over their surroundings before he killed the engine. Felicity was out the door before he could blink, so he hurriedly got out, remotely locked the vehicle with his key fob and followed her to her front door.

"Barry! We're here!" Felicity excitedly called out as she ushered him into her home. He hadn't really been to her place that much, aside from it having been a part of his nightly patrols. Even if she had given him (and Digg) a key all those years ago (for security purposes), he'd been in it, maybe just once in the year that had passed, so he took a few moments to reacquaint himself with her colorful – and very quirky apartment. He had always liked it and found that he still did. It suited her well.

"Hey, Felicity! Right here…" Barry called out from her kitchen. "Oh, hey, Oliver!"

"Hey, guys!" Cisco greeted from where he stood near the microwave.

Oliver acknowledged both of the guys with a tip of his head before he heard Felicity ask Barry if the three of them were ready to go.

"Caitlin's just finishing up in your room," the speedster replied, dusting his fingers, as he finished a piece of bread.

"Oh, okay. Is that what I think it is?" She asked, eyeing the remnants of Barry's breakfast - well, lunch, to be more precise.

"Yeah, he's at it again," Barry remarked giddily.

"Yup! Cisco's Wonderbread, served fresh in 5 minutes!" Cisco said as he mixed some sort of batter in a large bowl. Oliver really wanted to know how the guy who was literally drunk off his ass last night could have the energy to be so... chipper.

"Save me a piece, okay," Felicity requested.

"Did you one better. There's a loaf of mint-chip browning in the oven."

"Yay!" She exclaimed as she saw her own loaf. Oliver felt her drag him to sit on one of the stools that lined her kitchen counter. "Now, sit here, and enjoy the bread," she directed, and upon noticing Cisco pouring a new glass of what looked like another gourmet experiment, she warned, "But no Cisco's Supersmoothies for you."

"Hey! No dissing the god of breakfast powershakes!" The engineer protested just as he was about to set the glass in front of his newly-arrived friend.

"What's wrong with it?" Barry asked her with a bewildered expression. "It's good!"

"I know. It's super-good… until you can't sleep for the next 36 hours because you're so hopped up on sugar," she retorted while she snapped a quelling look at Cisco, who continued to eagerly offer Oliver the drink.

 _Oh, so that's it,_ he concluded quietly as he identified the source of his friend's almost frenetic energy.

"But it's the good kind of sugar! It's not even Flash-level sweet!"

"I think I could handle it," Oliver finally proclaimed to end the discussion. His manly pride bristled a little by having a small blonde defend him from what was essentially a fancy fruit shake, so he gently dismissed Felicity's well-meaning concern and motioned for Cisco to go on right ahead.

"My man!" Cisco cheered as he finally placed the tall tumbler containing the concoction in front of him.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Felicity chided before capturing Oliver's face with both of her hands and kissing the tip of his nose. "I'll just be a minute. I need to change." She bade them all with an absent "Laters, babies!" as she exited her kitchen.

"Hey, Oliver, would it be okay to load stuff in your car… after you eat, I mean?" Barry inquired.

"Why don't we do it now? The bread wouldn't be ready in…" he trailed off, looking at Cisco to fill in the blank.

"Four minutes." Cisco replied as he placed a dish inside the microwave.

"Okay. I'll just go ask Caitlin for hers," Barry nodded before he upped and left them to accomplish the task.

"So, Cisco's Supersmoothies, huh?" Oliver asked as he turned his attention back to his other friend and his gastronomic science experiments.

"Cait? We're going to start loading stuff in Oliver's car. Want us to bring any of yours?" Barry called out as he followed Felicity towards her bedroom.

"Yes, please. Here," Caitlin replied as she opened up the bedroom door to both of her friends. She held out her bag to Barry and thanked him before she greeted her blonde friend, "Hi, Felicity!"

"You're leaving so soon? I thought you guys were staying the whole weekend?" Felicity asked as she came into her bedroom, closed the door and headed towards her wardrobe closet.

"Oh, the guys and I decided to catch a train later. We didn't want to intrude more on your time with Oliver," Caitlin said as she cautiously made her way back and sat on the foot of the bed. Her own hangover was making it difficult not to trip on air.

Felicity stilled at that and stopped rummaging through her clothes. "You don't have to leave. _Mi casa es tu casa._ I'm such a terrible friend! I promised you guys a good time and you're leaving a day early!"

"No, Felicity. This time is important to you and Oliver. It's really no bother. Besides, last night was fun. I have the nausea, the headache and the photophobia to prove it!" The brunette exclaimed as she carefully put on her flats.

Despite the tiny laugh she gave at Caitlin's clinical description of a proper hangover, Felicity still felt really guilty that her friends are cutting their weekend short in deference to her and Oliver's recent development. "How about we get an afternoon snack or an early dinner instead? You know, to make up for me being such a crappy host."

"If Oliver doesn't mind, I think we can do that. I'll tell Barry and Cisco," Caitlin smiled as she slowly made her way to the dresser. "By the way, how's your eye?"

"It's fine. I was okay after I took my contacts out," she answered after noting the doctor's appraising gaze on her right eye. It was the one that took heavy salted popcorn fire the night before.

"I'm so sorry, Felicity. Barry said you wanted rainbows and unicorns but Skittles and popcorn were all we could get in a pinch," Caitlin apologized as she wore her earrings.

"Don't worry about it, Caitlin," Felicity giggled, thoroughly amused at her friend's adorable phrasing. "We'll all laugh about it later. Now," she said as she held up a blue polka dot romper in one hand and a coral chiffon sundress on the other, "which one should I wear?"

"Ooh, the coral one," Caitlin declared, eyeing the dress's peekaboo back. "I think Oliver would like that on you very much."

xxxxXXXXxxxx

It took another ten minutes for the girls to finish up and in that time, the guys have managed to load up the car, finish breakfast and clean up the kitchen.

"The botanical gardens?" Oliver asked to no one in particular, locking the door as the five of them finally exited Felicity's apartment.

"Yes. We want to catch Dr. Woodrue, a botanical biochemist. We just missed his stint at Hudson and he has a talk at the garden pavilion today. We're hoping he could help us identify the toxin that has been used in a string of unusual deaths in our city," Caitlin explained as Felicity led their way to the SUV.

"Yeah, that and a possible solution to the chafing issue," Cisco quipped seemingly to himself but the guys, who were hanging back a few paces from the girls, heard him just fine.

Oliver gave him an incredulous look as Barry blushed beet red all over.

"All that leather? At Mach 1+?" Cisco all but ignored the flustered Barry as he turned and answered Oliver with a matching look on his face. "What would _you_ use?" The engineer challenged, after he realized that he was facing a man who was no stranger to leather and running.

"Baby powder. Lots and lots of baby powder," Oliver smirked as he playfully cuffed Barry before he left the two younger men and hurried over to the driver's side of the parked X5.

Felicity and Caitlin, meanwhile, continued their conversation while they waited for the guys to catch up.

"One of Detective West's cases?" Felicity inquired.

"Not yet officially. They didn't have a case at first because the M.E. ruled all three deaths due to anaphylactic shock – extreme allergic reaction," Caitlin answered, "But the funny thing is that only the first victim – the alderman, and not the other businessmen, had known allergies, and all of them died within days of each other. That's when the police started looking into it but all the tests they ran were negative for any known allergens or toxins. Joe then brought it to us since the D.A. won't touch the case unless a perpetrator was found. We ran the samples through our database and found some sort of biological toxin. We tried to identify a source but the closest we could get is that it's probably of botanical origin."

"Is it a metahuman?"

"We don't know yet but Cisco thinks so. He's already started naming her," she said as Oliver buzzed the doors open.

"Wait, what makes you think the killer's a she?" Felicity said as she and Oliver got into their seats up front.

"Unknown weird toxin plus all victims were male and all of them seemed to be literally kissed to death," Cisco deadpanned as he preceded Caitlin and Barry into the backseat.

"What Cisco means is that, as far as we could tell, the worst signs of the reaction were found on and around the victims' lips. It seems to be the point of delivery," Caitlin clarified as she followed her friend into the vehicle.

"But it doesn't mean it wasn't something they ate," Oliver remarked, having caught on to the thread of the conversation as he belted himself into place.

"Or that it wasn't something forced into their mouths. It could have been a hit. Those victims are not exactly clean," Barry said as he got into his seat and shut his door. The alderman had long been suspected of shady dealings but nothing that could be made to stick. The other two 'businessmen' had more going on other than legitimate business. But the CCPD couldn't as yet find a solid connection between all three.

"Yes, but until we get all their swabs, gastric contents and other samples, we wouldn't be able to discount Cisco's theory," Caitlin said as Oliver pulled out in front of incoming traffic.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

The 25-minute ride to the gardens was not a boring affair, to say the least. After a short discussion of their afternoon plans, an exchange of breakfast recipes, a few minutes of small talk and an impromptu karaoke jam during one stretch of crawling traffic (They even got Oliver to sing – there's evidence so he can't deny it!), car talk eventually found its way back to an extensive revisiting of Barry's 'chafing issue'.

"Okay, get it all out, why don't you?" Barry grumbled, as Cisco started asking a cackling Felicity for possible solutions. She suggested aloe vera, between amused snorts, saying that the cooling gel from the plant can "hit two birds with one stone – you don't want to leave the – uh – heating issue unaddressed. You want babies, Barry, right?" She said as she turned her attention to Barry, who was seated behind her.

Barry answered by sinking further into his seat and banging his head emphatically on his headrest. That brought his eyeline right smack to the rearview mirror where he caught Oliver give him a small empathetic grimace and an apologetic head tilt. _I wish I could help, but you're on your own, buddy_ , his eyes said.

 _Yeah, thanks._ Barry replied with his own frustrated eye roll.

Oblivious to the silent exchange between the two men, Caitlin remarked that aloe can work but Cisco had to find a way to stabilize the gel at high temperatures – otherwise, she said, "it will denature into a chunky gunk which would not help anyone on the friction or comfort front…"

"Ugh! Swamp crotch! I totally forgot about that!" Cisco cringed in disgust as he came to realize his oversight.

Barry groaned audibly at that and gave his head a couple of exasperated shakes, beyond mortified that his friends continued to discuss issues pertaining to his junk like he wasn't there.

"Aw, come on Barry. We just want you safe and healthy," Caitlin soothed as she laid her chin on his shoulder and patted his arm.

"Yeah, and babies, Barry, babies," Felicity teased, as she witnessed the scene from the passenger seat.

There was just a beat of silence before Oliver finally stopped at the gardens' main gate. "I'll drop you guys off here now," he announced, to Barry's very apparent relief. "I'll park then I'll follow you in later," he said to Felicity as he gave her a quick kiss.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

It took a few minutes for Oliver to find a parking spot because the place was unusually busy, even for a Saturday afternoon. _This was going to be an ordeal_ , he surmised. He didn't really like crowds unless he needed them for cover.

He had already entered the main gate and was just about to make his way through The Promenade, which was a block of small specialty shops and cafés just within the garden's entrance, when the small flower shop at the corner caught his eye. It was the same shop where his mom had frequently bought flowers to bring home all those years ago. A wave of nostalgia hit him and the sudden urge to get Felicity something had him wandering over to the storefront.

"Hi! I'm Lisbeth. How can I help you?" A cheerful elderly woman greeted from behind a few potted plants as she caught Oliver lingering by the flowers out front.

"Hi! Do you have any lilies?" Oliver asked, after wracking his brain for an appropriate flower to give Felicity. His mother always said flowers carried specific meanings. He was beginning to regret that he didn't really listen much, given the many hours he had spent with Moira in the gardens when he was a young kid. But lilies he knew were safe to give to anyone.

"They're just beginning to bloom. I have some on stock. Care for any particular color?"

"White, if you have them."

The florist nodded her head and asked, "Do you want them in a bouquet, a potted plant or as a bulb?"

"A bouquet."

"For your mother?"

"No," he said emphatically. _What did he call Felicity, exactly?_ "It's actually for my…" he cleared his throat before he settled on "girlfriend."

The florist beamed at him before conspiratorially asking, "Might I suggest something?"

He gave a small, almost shy smile as he nodded his head, looking every bit like he didn't do this very often – or ever, for that matter.

"Can you add a little splash of color to this?" She indicated at the bouquet she was beginning to assemble. "White lilies may be a little too… chaste, if you know what I mean."

"Uh," he said as he tried to keep himself from chortling and allowed his eyes to roam the flowers on display. "How about those?" He said as he pointed to the flowers on her far left.

"The orange daisies?" She asked.

 _Felicity will have a fit at that one_ , he mused, remembering her almost violent reaction to their very orange brunch.

"No, those roses," he said as he pointed again towards the only other flower he recognized in the whole shop.

"Oh, you mean The Felicity," the florist said as she went over to the roses. The blooms were somewhat of a pale, delicate yellow that developed fully into pink and finally bled into red at the tips of the petals.

"Excuse me?" He politely asked, not entirely sure if he had heard correctly.

"It's the Felicity rose. It's a new variety. I just got them this morning, as a matter of fact. It's an excellent choice for a gift since it has a long vase life," the florist explained. "Would you want a few to go with the lilies?"

 _Well what do you know?_ "Yes, please," he affirmed as he watched Lisbeth expertly choose and cut a few blooms. "It's pretty busy out here today," he remarked as he made conversation, surreptitiously sweeping his eyes over the park and its main entrance, taking advantage of the clear, unobstructed view.

"Oh, the Stars are having their victory parade down by the River Walk at 4 and a Thank You Concert at the Amphitheater at 5. Are you a fan?" She asked as she brought all the flowers together.

"Not until recently," he said. He had been partial to the Metropolis Mammoths growing up but the Stars' recent, almost impossible comeback this season had converted him into one of the _Star-struck_.

"You are just like my husband. He used to be a Knights fan through and through. Found religion last night at the end of the third."

His answering chuckle was interrupted midway by his phone's buzzing alert. It was a message from Felicity. They spent a few moments exchanging texts:

 _F: Am at the main pavilion entrance. Parked all right?_

 _O: Yes. On my way. Want anything from The Promenade?_

 _F: Nope. Thanks. CC crew went ahead. Told them I'll wait for you._

 _O: Will be there in a few. Why don't you go into the exhibit hall? It's hot out._

 _F: Okay. See you. :)_

"Was that her?" the florist asked good-naturedly as she handed him the finished bouquet and the bill.

"Yes," he said as he paid and waited for his change.

"I hope she likes it."

"Thanks," he smiled as he took his leave and made his way to Felicity.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

The Starling Botanical Park & Gardens encompassed a huge space. Aside from the Promenade that overlooked part of the river and the small outdoor amphitheater near the east end of the property, the main park is spread over 65 acres of land, divided into several specialty gardens, a number of greenhouses, an orchard, an arboretum, a gazebo and a couple of pavilions. The main pavilion, which is located in the center of the park, was home to the horticultural center, laboratories, offices and the 200-seat auditorium where the scientist their Central City friends wanted to catch was holding a special seminar.

Felicity told the trio to go on ahead and opted to wait for Oliver at the main lobby entrance. There was an unusually thick crowd that day so she wondered if the scientist her friends were hoping to talk to was that big a deal. By the time she had found a clear enough spot to wait for Oliver, it had been more than 10 minutes since he had left them at the gate, so she texted him to find out if he was able to find a parking spot already.

He answered quickly and told her that he would be with her in a few minutes and suggested that she go into the exhibit hall, which she remembered was fully climate-controlled because of the heat. She decided to take his suggestion and headed into the cooler interior of the building after texting him back.

The exhibition hall showcased a multitude of strange and poisonous plant species, which produced the toxins and bioactive derivatives on which the visiting scientist, a Dr. J. Woodrue, founded his expertise. Felicity wasn't really into the stuff so she wandered through the halls aimlessly while waiting for Oliver, and ended up in a relatively secluded section of the exhibit floor.

It was the first time Felicity saw this section, having preferred, in her past outings, to go straight to the main gardens, the River Walk or the gazebo, instead of spending time in the main pavilion. The section, she came to see, was a sunlit rotunda offset from the main hall by its round and marbled architecture, and had, on prominent display, rows upon rows of solitary flower blooms encased in clear acrylic orbs. She thought it was a flower exhibit at first but noticed that each preserved flower had a corresponding plaque with a society woman's name and a year or two on it.

Oliver caught a glimpse of her (well, actually her ponytail and that teasing sliver of skin revealed by the back of her dress – or lack thereof – yes, he noticed!) just as she was about to enter the Gallery of Honor, a segment of the pavilion dedicated to the chairwomen and other distinguished patrons of the Botanical Gardens. He followed her in quietly, hoping to surprise her with his gift.

"They represent all the women who had chaired or served on the board of the Botanical Gardens with distinction in the past," Oliver said, effectively jolting her from her musings.

She whirled on him, her signature ponytail giving a violent swish, as she looked to give him the 'ninja speech'. But Oliver saw all that indignant fury die when she noticed and was struck wordless by the bouquet he was holding out to her.

"For you," he prompted, when she didn't make a move past the floored 'o' she made with her pink lips.

"Thank you," she said as she finally skipped – yes, skipped – to him. "How did you know that I love lilies?" She asked as she took the bouquet and smelled the flowers.

"Lucky guess," he answered truthfully, a little guilty that he didn't really take time to find out any of her preferences when it came to flowers, and other things.

Felicity wanted to mitigate the chagrin in his voice when he admitted his lapse so she went up on her toes, smiled and said, "I like sunflowers too, but lilies are my favorite. And you still get a kiss… or two," as she punctuated her last few words with two chaste kisses on his lips.

She giggled as he brought her fully into his embrace and peppered his own kisses on her sweet lips, "or three, or four, or five…" taking time to savor the fruity flavor her lip gloss left on him.

The distant though distinct clearing of a throat broke the moment and after one more quick peck, Oliver smiled and took her hand to lead her to the older section of the hall.

"This is my mom's," he said as he squeezed her hand and pointed to a globe holding a single purple chrysanthemum ball.

"Moira Dearden Queen," she read, "1989-1992." She gazed at him then, and saw the wistful look in his eyes. She squeezed his hand in sympathy. _He must miss her_ , she thought.

"She used to bring me here all the time. We would meet Tommy and his mom here. Then our moms would visit the plant nurseries and inspect the gardens while we played outside," he reminisced.

After a few beats, he proceeded to show her the globe dedicated to Tommy's mom, Rebecca Merlyn, and after a patient search, to both his Grandma Dearden's and Grandma Queen's markers.

After having gone through the exhibit, Felicity remarked that no two flowers were exactly alike, to which Oliver replied that each lady's globe was preserved with a flower variant that shared her name. If two ladies shared the same name, a different color was chosen.

"What if her name's exotic like Beyoncé or… or Björk and they couldn't find a flower for it? What then?" She wondered aloud when they began to leave the rotunda hand-in-hand.

"They cultivate a flower variety, I think, or if they can't, they substitute the lady's favorite flower."

"Hmmm…" she contemplated.

"You don't have to worry about yours, you know," he joked as he nudged her with a playful elbow. "That rose right there," he pointed at her bouquet, "is called The Felicity."

"No way!" She moued as she stopped walking.

"Yes. Way," he answered, dragging out the last syllable. "Google it."

She let go of his hand and hooked her arm on his instead, right before she shifted her bouquet to free her typing hand and retrieved her phone to do as he asked.

Oliver assumed that she had her answer when she turned into his bicep and nuzzled her face on his arm. "It's good to know. Was that another lucky guess?"

He smiled. "No. Just good taste…" He said as he recounted how he had come to know about the rose that shared her name.

"I agree with your good taste and from what I hear, your even better timing," Felicity teased after his story.

"And who would've thought that I'd ever get that right…" he whispered into her hair.

He felt her curl further into his arm. "I did, you know. Well, I've always hoped," she corrected herself softly.

He allowed himself a couple of seconds to temper the sudden surge of tenderness in his chest for the remarkable woman in his arms, before he hugged her closer and coaxed her into walking again, "Come on. Let's take a look at the rest. I haven't been here in a while."

* * *

Is it too late to introduce a B-plot? Hahaha! I have so much fun writing this that ideas just pop up when I least expect them. Anyway, I can always spin it off into a Snowbarry fic, this case the Central City trio is working on. What do you think? Oh, and don't forget to leave your comments/reviews below (I usually give a small teaser for the next chapter for those who do [just be sure you're logged on]). I love hearing from you guys. Kisses!


	6. Chapter 6

Oh my God! You guys, I am so super sorry for making you wait this long. My bad. After trying to rewrite major chunks of the chapters I had lost when my old laptop got fried, this chapter just did not want to end itself. So this is a long one - maybe the longest ever. Some of it sets up a Snowbarry spin-off fic and the sequel fic that are both in the works so there may just be a lot of exposition. Hope it doesn't bore you. Anyway, same old same old: this work is not beta'd, all mistakes are mine, yada yada, no copyright infringement intended and faves/follows/comments/reviews are always welcome. XOXO

* * *

Chapter 6

They had made their way around the main exhibit floor when both of their phones buzzed. It was Barry informing them that the symposium had started late and that the second half of their scientist's talk would begin in just a few minutes.

"Barry said the talk started late. Do you want to sit in?" Oliver asked, pulling Felicity towards him as they came to the part of the hall that was beginning to fill with a bigger crowd. A lot of people were apparently trying to beat the early afternoon heat by cooling off inside the main pavilion.

"Might as well. My eyes need a break from all the sunshine."

The introductions were already underway by the time they reached the darkened auditorium. He found his friends right where Barry had texted they would be, so he guided Felicity towards the two remaining seats next to them.

He took the seat closest to the aisle and got as comfortable as he could being in a dark confined space with no clear sight lines to several unsecured access points around it. He breathed in and forced himself to settle into a state of relaxed alertness. _At least, he had his back to the wall._

He didn't know just how tightly he was gripping the armrest until Felicity nudged him with a bottle of cold water _courtesy of Caitlin Snow's quick hands at the refreshment table_ , she whispered.

He unscrewed the cap and quickly took a sip. It calmed him down somewhat and allowed him to sink into his seat.

"You okay?" Felicity asked, placing a hand on his arm as he placed the water bottle on the armrest's cup holder.

He took her hand in his before he answered in an equally low voice, "I'm fine."

She squeezed his hand back in acknowledgement as she settled into her own seat and redirected her attention to the speaker who had taken over the stage.

The man who was making his way to the podium had a distinguished air about him. He was tall, had disheveled salt-and-pepper hair and a carefully groomed beard. The round-framed glasses he wore softened what Felicity could only describe as a penetrating gaze but she was too far away to tell the color of his eyes. The easy way with which he spoke belied the power in the husky timbre of his voice. He was basically what her mom would call a hot silver fox. She had to smile at that. _Yup_ , she thought, _her mom would definitely go gaga over Dr. Jason Woodrue._ But despite all that, there was something there that she couldn't entirely trust. Maybe because he resembled the way she had imagined her father would look like after all these years apart. She mentally shrugged, dismissed the thought quickly and tried to focus on what the man was saying.

The small smile he'd caught on Felicity's face had Oliver sizing up the speaker on stage. He was mid-to-late 40s, maybe a shade over 6 feet tall, had a wiry build and had a barely perceptible limp. He commanded attention by the way he carried himself. If they had gotten into a brawl, he was sure he could subdue the other man but not without a fight - a short one but a fight nonetheless. He caught himself at that thought. He had never really been the jealous type until Felicity - well until he'd seen her with other men. He shook his head to clear it. She was here with him. That was that.

His thoughts were interrupted by a question posed by the man he had been observing, "What do you think the difference is between a poison and a drug?"

 _Dose,_ he quietly replied. Oliver had enough experience with both to know the answer all too well.

"Dose would be correct," Dr. Woodrue commended the resounding answer from the audience before he started discussing his work with some of South America's most dangerous plants in search for a cure for cancer and other pervasive diseases.

Oliver had recognized several of the poisons and toxins the botanist discussed – ricin, curare and scopolamine, among others. And there were a lot more that were being researched in terms of their medicinal properties. _Interesting_ , he thought. Maybe he could look at QI's biotech and see what they were up to in this area.

He was so immersed in the talk that it was already nearing its end when he realized that Felicity's hand had become limp in his. He looked to his side to see that she had fallen asleep. He had to smile at that. He had never imagined a universe where he, Oliver Queen, College Dropout, would be sitting in a scientific conference listening in rapt attention while Felicity Smoak, MIT Class of '09, lightly snored beside him.

He woke her up quietly by tugging at her hand gently, "Felicity, it's almost done."

"Hmmm?" She hummed, still a little out of it.

"The talk's almost over," he had said while nuzzling her hair.

"Oh, okay," she answered, opening her eyes to a smiling Oliver. "Did I miss something?"

"Unless you're absolutely interested in this, no, not particularly," he snickered, just as the last question from the audience was fielded.

Felicity leaned her head on his arm and closed her eyes some more, telling him to tell her when they were ready to leave.

After the speaker had answered the question, the emcee then thanked Dr. Woodrue for his very enlightening talk and welcomed everybody to the small reception at the lobby. Their friends decided that it would be easier to approach the scientist at the cocktail party than battle with the crush of bodies that were then making their exit, so they had waited as the throng thinned a little before they made their own way out.

He and Felicity took the lead, followed by Barry, Caitlin and Cisco. He was immediately recognized by Jessica Danforth, one of his mom's oldest friends (who also happened to be on the current board of the Gardens), just as he cleared the auditorium's glass doors. He quickly whispered the essentials to Felicity as the older blonde approached, since it was an encounter he couldn't avoid. Jessica was one of his mom's most trusted confidantes, and they had become even closer during his mom's run for mayor. He didn't know if that made her trustworthy or not, but one simply cannot snub well-connected 'old family friends'. At the very least, he was expected to say hello.

After the requisite greetings, Jessica quickly turned her attention to Felicity.

"Hi, I'm Jessica Danforth, family friend," the older woman said as she introduced herself to Felicity, not waiting for Oliver to go through all the formalities.

"Felicity Smoak, also a friend," Felicity replied candidly as she took the woman's offered hand. She can't believe this woman was one of Moira's close friends. Jessica resembled her mother, albeit more conservatively and expensively dressed and not at all the type she imagined the late Queen matriarch had regularly mingled with. The lady was informal, direct and open.

"More than just, I think, being one of Queen Incorporated's VPs," the older woman commented before continuing, "And another rose, I see. Pretty Jessica is a pink shrub rose."

"I also just learned that Felicity is a mostly yellow long-stem."

"Good. Saves you all the hassle of choosing yours when you get here," Jessica said as she winked at her.

Felicity was actually stunned so she just gave a befuddled smile. She felt like she had missed something. The woman knew something she didn't. The fact that the other woman could have noticed her holding a bouquet of flowers didn't even cross her mind.

"Oliver, dear, why don't you introduce me to your other friends?" The other woman said without missing a beat.

After Oliver presented Barry, Caitlin and Cisco and after a few minutes of small talk, Jessica said that it was nice to finally run into Oliver outside a corporate event. Oliver confessed that they were there mainly for more business (which was true), saying that Biotech fell under Felicity's purview in Applied Sciences and that they attended the talk to keep current with the trends (which was bullshit!). He also added that his other friends were familiar with the speaker and his work. Having been made aware of the fact, Jessica quickly facilitated an introduction to the man they had wanted to speak to. Dr. Woodrue was polite and had a firm handshake. His friends had taken over after the short introductions and started discussing the scientist's body of work.

Jessica, who had seen and wanted to chat with a councilman she knew, took her leave from the group just as their friends and the botanist had started to segue into some technicalities of the field. Oliver decided that it would be best to leave his friends to do their work, and with Felicity looking too distracted, he had made his and Felicity's excuses and left with Felicity in tow, together with his mother's friend.

"Nice to finally meet you, Felicity," the older blonde said, taking both of the younger's hands, when they were a few feet away from the group.

"You too, Jessica." Felicity said as she felt her hands being squeezed.

"And don't be a stranger, Oliver."

"I won't," he replied as Jessica had kissed his cheek. It was the expected reply, even if it was a lie. Oliver wasn't really big on being social.

With a final wave to them, she had left and flitted over to the councilman she had previously mentioned.

Felicity still felt like she was in the Twilight Zone. She felt a little weird that an obviously well-heeled socialite whom she had never met before would introduce herself to her, one lowly Miss Smoak, much less know her position at QI and mention that it was _finally_ nice to meet her. And that conspiratorial wink was another thing that boggled her mind. This was why she hated mysteries – she tended to fixate too much.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Oliver asked Felicity as they were left on their own. She seemed a little preoccupied.

"She's… I didn't expect any of your mom's friends to be like… _that_."

"Jessica's always been like that – direct, candid, funny even. Discrete too but she was always in the know, always kept up with the movers and shakers," he said as he recalled what he could of his mother's most trusted friend.

"Okay," Felicity said. "Do I need to be worried now that I'm on her radar?"

"With what she said, it looks like you've been on her radar for a while now. She's mostly harmless, I think. Probably wants to get you onboard a charity or two. And she's also not on The List… _but_ you might want to look into her, you know, just to be safe." _You never really knew with his mom,_ he appended silently.

"Okay," she said, mentally scribbling the woman's name under her Naughty List pending further inquiry. And then she remembered what she had been thinking about as they left the auditorium earlier, "Anyway, could we maybe do something with Barry, Caitlin and Cisco? I just want to send them off properly. They're leaving sooner than I expected."

"Yeah, Barry mentioned that they were taking a train back to Central City later," Oliver said, remembering the conversation he and his friend had as they had loaded the car this morning. He had been astonished by their generosity and felt a little guilty when Barry said that they didn't want to cut more into his time with Felicity. He had offered them his jet but Barry politely declined, saying that he'd rather take the train because Cisco just got way too excited on planes and Caitlin got too jittery with anything that took her more than five feet off the ground. After last night's drunk-friend-wrangling, Barry said he needed some peace, some quiet and some sleep. "The Stars are having a victory parade at the River Walk at 4 and there's a Thank You concert at the Amphitheater after that."

"So that's why there are a lot of people here," Felicity remarked.

"Uh-huh. What are you thinking?"

"Do you think it's too late to invite the others for a little afternoon picnic?"

"Well, the parade won't start for another hour-and-a-half," he said as he checked his watch. "Assuming that they're all up by this time, it shouldn't be a problem. There's a café and a few shops at the Promenade, so we could get the stuff we need without leaving the Gardens."

"Okay, I'll have to call Lyla and Thea to see if we can scrounge up more food and drinks. You take care of Tommy and the rest."

"On it," he said as he turned to do just that.

He was waiting for Tommy to pick up when he saw Cisco step a little away from the discussion, probably anticipating the waitress who was carrying a tray of hors d'oeuvres, just before a white-coated woman, who was speaking on her phone, crashed into him. Cisco was momentarily pissed off but Oliver saw his face transform into one of fascination. He had read his friend's lips. _Gorgeous_ , Oliver mentally translated. He had to agree. The quick glance he'd spared the fleeing woman was enough for him to register her features. She was a tall redhead with glasses, high cheekbones and a delicate complexion. He wouldn't have thought green lipstick would flatter anyone but she had made it work.

Before he had any other thoughts about that, however, Tommy had picked up. "Hey, buddy," his friend greeted. "Wow, you're up. I thought tequila would've knocked you out or at least would've given you a heck of a hangover."

"I am hungover. A little bit. Anyway, Felicity wants to know if you and Laurel could make it here, to the Gardens by 4 o'clock. The Stars are going to have their victory parade and concert here. She wants to make it a picnic."

"Yeah, I could make it. Don't know about Laurel though but I'll call her. You guys need anything?"

"Felicity's on the phone now with Lyla and Thea talking about food and stuff. I'll let you know if we need anything else. Just call Laurel and let me know if you guys could come."

"Okay. Later."

He fired off a quick text to Digg and Roy, who replied that they were already aware of the event via Felicity's being on the phone with Lyla and Thea, respectively, and that they would be there. He texted Laurel too and got a reply a little later that Tommy had already called her and was picking her up.

Felicity had just finished with Lyla and Thea when their trio of friends came over. Oliver had just texted an "OK" to Laurel when Caitlin gave them an update on their case. "He says he had never seen anything like it before," the doctor reported. "I've shown him some photomicrographs and a mass spectrogram but he wants to see more."

"At least, you've got your expert working with you," Oliver remarked.

"Thank you for making that happen, by the way," Caitlin said.

Oliver shrugged it off. It was pure luck that any of it had happened. He couldn't take credit for that.

"Yeah and please thank your friend for us. Without Jessica, we wouldn't have been able to catch him. He's in a hurry to wrap this up. Family emergency," Barry said.

"Any luck on your _other_ problem?" Felicity asked Cisco.

"Not much, he told me to look at biofilms," he answered.

"Anyway, are you guys up for a picnic?" Felicity asked all of her Central City friends.

"The Stars are having their victory celebrations here later. We thought you guys might want to check it out, have a little picnic on the side. The others are also coming," Oliver elaborated.

Three heads nodded. "Sure," Barry said, speaking for the three of them. "Oh my God, please tell me that I get to see Corbin Foyston," he gushed as soon as he realized his luck.

"Don't forget Freddie Guyle," Cisco enthused.

Oliver smiled at the mention of the Stars' top players. Foyston's playmaking ability had been such a blast to watch and Guyle's defensive hustle was something he appreciated.

"We just might," Oliver said, a little excited. He actually knew the team's GM. He just might be able to swing it, especially when the team belonged to the Arena Group, the owners of the Starling Arena where he was thinking of leasing one of the corporate boxes for QI. He needed to make a few calls.

Seeing their 'inner fanboys' breaking out, Felicity recognized the opportunity for her to have more girl time with Caitlin and allow the guys to bond some more. She was guilty enough for cutting their trip short so she was going to give them the time to enjoy the afternoon. She capitalized on it, "Why don't you guys go ahead and scout the place for the best spots on the River Walk and a good picnic area while Caitlin and I head over to the Promenade to do some shopping?"

Oliver balked at the idea of leaving her side but there was a _very_ determined glint in her eyes. He was not going to win against that. "Okay, but we'll walk you there so that we could scope out the Amphitheater first."

xxxxXXXXxxxx

After a pretty extensive tour of the area, the guys ended up staking claim over the spot with the best view overlooking both the River Walk and the Amphitheater. The spot was a flat patch of land between the rolling meadows that separated the parking lot form the greens. They wouldn't be seeing any of the players up close but the place was relatively secluded, had shade, had clear vantage points and was sheltered at the rear by the gentle slope of a grassy knoll. It made no difference to them that the players would look like toy soldiers from where they stood, because Oliver had arranged for them to meet the Stars just before they started their parade at the River Walk.

To say that Barry and Cisco were ecstatic was an epic understatement. Oliver wouldn't forget Cisco breaking into his happy dance with Barry giving him the beat anytime soon. The news also had all the rest of their friends speeding towards the Gardens but apparently did nothing to hasten Felicity and Caitlin's shopping trip. He was getting a little antsy, not having eyes on Felicity for the past hour. The good news was Tommy and Laurel had found them. Felicity and Caitlin had a few shopping bags with them while Tommy and Laurel brought what looked like a huge picnic blanket and a few throw pillows.

"Hey!" Oliver said as he quickly went over to Felicity, bussed her cheek and helped her with her bags. Barry and Cisco stood from their perch on the grass and helped Caitlin with hers.

"Oh my God! Finally!" Felicity said as she let Oliver take some of the stuff she was holding. "I never thought we would get through the crowd at the gate! Good thing, Laurel and Tommy saw us and fished us out!"

"They're everywhere," Caitlin said.

"It's that bad?" Oliver asked as he greeted his newly arrived friends.

"Parking's hell!" Tommy exclaimed.

Laurel nodded her head in agreement, "The closest spot we could find was half-way to the West Gate. But we made it!" She proceeded to greet Barry and Cisco and enlisted their help with spreading the picnic blanket.

"Nice spot!" Tommy remarked as he took in the view for a few seconds. "Where's Thea?" He inquired as he deposited the pillows he was holding near the place Barry, Cisco and Oliver had placed the shopping bags.

"On her way with Roy," Felicity said as she and Caitlin rummaged through the bags and started bringing out the Stars' championship caps they had gotten from one of the souvenir shops for all of the guys.

"They should be here by now," Oliver added. He was just about to bend down and help his friends set up when he was tackled by his sister. He tensed a bit before relaxing once he recognized just who had attacked him with a hug.

"Ollie!" She greeted.

"Hey, Speedy! Roy," He said by way of greeting as he hugged Thea back.

Roy acknowledged his greeting with a nod. He placed the cooler he was carrying down on the grass before he headed over to the rest of the group and greeted them.

"You guys parked okay?" Laurel asked Roy, as she continued to pat down the picnic blanket. Barry and Cisco were working on arranging some of the pillows Tommy had brought.

"Yeah, but we're way over at the West Gate. It was hard to get here with all the people hanging around the entrances, waiting for the team bus to arrive," the young man answered. "I just wish Digg and Lyla could find a better spot."

"Isn't Sara with them?" Felicity looked up from her new task of taking out some chips and dips.

Having heard that, Oliver was just about to text Digg when his phone started buzzing. It was Digg calling, well, Lyla on Digg's phone as he soon found out.

"Oliver, could you maybe meet us at the main gate in 5 minutes? John's going to drop Sara and me off with the cooler before he swings around to find parking. It's already packed here by the West Gate," she said.

"No problem. Barry, Roy and I will head over there now."

"Okay, thanks! See you," Lyla said as she clicked off.

Barry and Roy were already standing by his side when the call ended. He told everyone about the call before the three of them left.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

By the time they had gotten Lyla and Sara to their spot, they had roughly ten minutes left before they had to make their way to the exclusive meet-and-greet. Felicity and Caitlin had quickly changed Sara into a limited edition Stars' baby romper they had gotten her earlier while Laurel and Thea handed out the caps and markers. Lyla took Digg's since he would be meeting them at the venue instead of fighting his way to get to their picnic patch. After quick goodbyes, the men had left with Lyla and Sara in tow. Felicity, Caitlin, Thea and Laurel had volunteered to stay behind and look after all the rest of their stuff.

It wasn't long before Thea had gotten them posing for an impromptu photoshoot. One particular photo that made its way to her Instagram was a selfie with all four of them in one row all pouty and sad and captioned _#leftbehind_.

Not a minute later, Cisco had posted a collage of that picture above a candid shot of Oliver, Barry, Roy and Tommy similarly lined up in a single row having different variations of the 'Awww' face while they (presumably) looked at Thea's selfie on Tommy's phone and right below that, another picture of them, this time looking straight at Cisco's phone camera (again, presumably) in various stages of blowing kisses. Cisco had hashtagged it _#awww #kisses #brb_.

They burst out laughing as soon as Thea showed them Cisco's post. A few minutes later, their streams were bombarded with several pictures of the boys with their hockey heroes under the tag _#Starstruck_ . There was even one of Sara with a big smile on her face, looking cute in her romper while being held by two of the Stars' best and most menacing players ( _#Starbaby_ ).

xxxxXXXXxxxx

The commotion on the River Walk below had signaled the official start of the parade and everybody was settled, forming a lose tableaux around the picnic blanket not 10 minutes after. The guys didn't have to join the crush, now that they had met their idols.

Oliver had taken a seat behind Felicity, sandwiching her between his outstretched legs. She leaned back against him just as soon as he got comfortable on the ground. Roy, meanwhile, was splayed on a spot next to where Thea was busy passing drinks around. Sara was left to play on the blanket while her parents started handing out what looked like burritos from the cooler they brought with them. Barry and Cisco flanked Caitlin just beside Laurel, who had Tommy laying his head on the pillow on her lap.

Everyone ate as Tommy and Cisco started sharing the other unposted pictures they took at the meet-and-greet. There was this one picture Tommy had taken of Barry, Cisco and Roy looking particularly wonderstruck in front of hockey legend Corbin Foyston. Everybody laughed at the particularly awed expression on their faces and the guys just started teasing and ribbing each other good-naturedly. After all the laughter and stories had died down, Caitlin remarked between bites off her tortilla wrap that the food was so good and asked Lyla what she put in it.

"Mostly leftovers. It's just smoked chicken, chili and cheese that I wrapped in whole-wheat tortillas and popped in the toaster oven for 5 minutes," Lyla answered.

"We could totally open a restaurant with this. This is gold," Thea said.

"I think a food truck would be better. That way, we could bring it to events like this," Laurel suggested.

"Yeah, and then we add Digg's smoked apricot-chipotle ribs to the menu," Felicity said, as she sucked cheese off her fingers.

"With a side of Lyla's cold potato salad," Digg mused out loud.

"And then Felicity's mac-and-cheese," Roy said, closing his eyes and shaking his head dreamily.

"Yeah, the one with the five cheeses!" Cisco interjected as he kissed his fingers and tossed them away.

"And the honey-cured bacon strips," Barry added, taking time away from eating his own wrap to reminisce.

"Oh yeah, and Tommy's barbecue chicken wings," Thea said.

"They're called drumettes, Thea, drumettes," Tommy corrected. To which Thea playfully retorted, "Whatever, Tommy! It's still made with the wings of a chicken."

Tommy looked at her as he sat up from his comfortable perch on Laurel's lap, exasperated by her mocking impertinence, but eventually caved in. "Yeah! And that with cold beer would just be priceless!" He said as he lay back down.

Oliver silently contemplated his friends' suggestions as he finished his own burrito. Apparently, he had missed out on a lot. Except for Lyla's potato salad, he hadn't tasted any of his friends' culinary masterpieces. Heck, he didn't even know Felicity could cook. With what he remembered, take-out was a staple for her. It stung a little, now that he realized what he had missed when he was adamantly set on not living. And since he had committed to having a life, he had to be better at being more… present. It looked to him that he was going to have to insist on a weekend barbecue soon. The Fourth of July weekend, which was coming up in a little over three weeks, was looking good.

"We're missing dessert though," Lyla pointed out, interrupting Oliver's secret scheming.

"Cisco's Wonderbread," Oliver quickly proposed, effectively stunning everyone into an amazed silence. He was usually so quiet in these types of exchanges, that most of his friends still get shocked when he joins in.

"Oh my God! You guys have to try it!" Felicity exclaimed to break the quiet as she leaned forward from Oliver's chest. "What's in it again, Cisco?" She asked to keep the conversation going.

"Self-rising flour and basically any full-cream ice cream I can get my hands on," he replied hastily, after getting over the pleasant surprise of Oliver's approval.

"But don't you need eggs to make bread though?" Digg wondered between bites.

"Yes, but most of the things you need to make it is already in ice cream. So, I just mix in the flour for a minute then pop everything into the microwave for another, three minutes more in a toaster oven if you want to brown it a little, then poof! Oven-fresh in five minutes!"

"It's actually like ice-cream flavored short cake. I could eat it for days," Felicity claimed.

"It's that good?" Roy asked, intrigued.

"You have to taste it to believe it," Barry remarked.

"Ooh! Good thing I have some. Here," Caitlin said while she brought out a plastic baggie full of the tasty science experiment from her bag and passed it on for everybody to share. Even baby Sara was reaching for it.

It took another minute for the baggie to make the rounds before Tommy announced his verdict. "Oh! This'll do. It's good on its own," he paused to chew, then continued, "but dip this in some chocolate sauce, sprinkle some salted caramel brittle on it and it's going to be dynamite!"

"Or some chunky applesauce, a little nutmeg and a dash of cinnamon," Laurel said.

"That could work too," Lyla agreed as she bit into her share of Cisco's bread.

Oliver continued to listen as his friends talked food when he felt Felicity lean back onto his chest. He heard her give a contented sigh, before she serenely asked him, "Having fun?"

 _He was having more than just fun_ , he admitted to himself. Oliver was feeling his heart swell with a flood of unadulterated joy. There were no threats and targets here – just friends and family. He felt safe. He felt loved. He felt whole. "Can I tell you something strange?"

Felicity turned her head to face him and squinted.

"I'm happy," he smiled as he looked at her and basked in the wonder that was simply _her_.

 _It was one of those very rare smiles,_ Felicity thought – the one that brought out his dimples and reached his eyes. And since she couldn't help it, she cradled his face in one hand and laid a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," he said just a while later.

"For what?" She asked a little perplexed at his remark.

"For making this happen," he said as he turned his face into her palm and solemnly kissed it.

What he meant exactly by that, Felicity really didn't know. She also didn't know what to say so she just laid her forehead on the side of his jaw and joined him in blissful silence as they watched their friends cheer on little Sara Diggle as she crawled her way from the blanket to the top of Tommy's chest and started force-feeding him scrunched up pieces of Cisco's Wonderbread.

* * *

Now, I've got to have ribs and maybe a quesadilla. Sheesh! I'm hungry! Ooh, and maybe two more chapters left to this very long day and I'll try to get them up before the next week ends. I hope... Anyway, I'm always happy to hear from you guys! Don't forget to leave your comments/reviews below. Kisses!


	7. Chapter 7

I'm nervous about this because it has a generous serving of angst. And uh, RATINGS BUMP after the train station good-bye scene you'll read below, so to those who get squirmy with the hot and steamy, please feel free to skip that section. I wouldn't keep you long, so I'll just state the same old same old: this work is unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine, no copyright infringement intended and please feel free to leave comments/reviews/faves/follows. Who knows? That might speed up my writing the last chapter to this monster. XOXO

* * *

Rating: Explicit

Chapter 7

Digg and Lyla were on their way back to their picnic spot to relieve Felicity and Oliver from looking after Baby Sara, when they found the other couple having fun with their daughter. Felicity had volunteered to stay behind and watch their baby while the rest of the group headed down to the Amphitheater when the concert started picking up. Oliver, of course, had chosen to stay with her.

As they crested the hill on which their picnic blanket sat, they found their friends both lying on their backs, with Oliver holding their 8-month old securely in his arms and gliding her up in the air while Felicity tickled her tummy. Sara was squealing and giggling, obviously loving the attention from her aunt and uncle, who themselves were laughing with her.

"Hey! You guys, okay?" Lyla asked as they finally reached the trio.

Oliver settled the baby protectively against his chest, abruptly going on alert upon hearing their approach. His face was awash with relief as he recognized Digg and Lyla.

"Yeah," Felicity answered, sitting up to face them for a bit before bringing her attention back to the baby. "Little Miss Sara Diggle had a lot of fun. Didn't you, baby girl?" She said as she continued to tickle her, but this time on her waist. Sara squealed her delight as she burrowed further into her uncle's chest.

"Looks like it," Digg remarked as he smiled at the picture his friends made.

Sara perked up at the sound of her father's voice and tried to turn around. They were positioned awkwardly so Oliver, cradling her firmly to his chest sat up and turned the baby towards Digg. "Who's that, Sara?" He prompted.

The baby shrieked an excited," Da!" as she left Oliver's arms to crawl her way to her dad, who was now sitting on the blanket beside her mom.

"Oh my God! She's such a daddy's girl!" Felicity exclaimed.

"Like you wouldn't believe!" Lyla answered and then teasingly confessed, "Sometimes I get jealous. But then I remember that she'll grow up and begin to date."

"She's never going to date," Digg and Oliver said at the same time.

Lyla and Felicity just couldn't help but laugh at the misplaced vehemence of their conviction.

"Good luck telling her that in 14 years!" Lyla said.

"It's going to be so much fun helping her sneak out!" Felicity chimed in.

"Never gonna happen," Digg retorted with a sharp look at both his wife and his friend. Both women again laughed at his face. Exasperated, he then turned to his best friend, "Oliver, why don't you take Felicity dancing? That way, she can stop planning swift exits under the cover of darkness. I already have this one to worry about," he said as he indicated his wife with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

"Come on," Oliver said as he gamely offered his hand to Felicity. He didn't know if it was one of the residual effects of Cisco's Supersmoothie but he was feeling giddy.

"I thought you didn't dance?" She blinked through her glasses, even as she laid her hand on his.

He just smiled at her as he stood and dragged her up with him.

The concert had reached past its halfway point by the time they reached a small spot, in perfect view of the stage, just at the edge of the crowd. The setting sun had cast an almost dreamy glow at the Amphitheater and the rest of the open grounds, just as the performers on stage started playing the opening chords of a slow song that they had dedicated to the people of Starling who had not given up on their team or their city even in the face of almost insurmountable odds. Oliver swept Felicity into his arms.

"You've been holding out on me," Felicity teased as he had begun to move them with the music.

"This," he said, pointing out the slow swaying movement he had started, "is just about the extent of the dancing I know," he replied, smiling. "Well, the only one that stuck, anyway," he corrected himself as he remembered those stultifying dance lessons his mother had put him through. He visibly cringed.

"Looks like there's a story here," she said as she noticed him flinch at a memory.

"Another time, another place, Felicity. For right now, just sway with me," he whispered, bringing her closer to him as the singer began to croon the lyrics.

 _"When I look into your eyes_  
 _It's like watching the night sky_  
 _Or a beautiful sunrise_  
 _Well, there's so much they hold_  
 _And just like them old stars_  
 _I see that you've come so far_  
 _To be right where you are_  
 _How old is your soul?_

 _Well, I won't give up on us_  
 _Even if the skies get rough_  
 _I'm giving you all my love_  
 _I'm still looking up_

 _And when you're needing your space_  
 _To do some navigating_  
 _I'll be here patiently waiting_  
 _To see what you find_

 _'Cause even the stars they burn_  
 _Some even fall to the earth_  
 _We've got a lot to learn_  
 _God knows we're worth it_  
 _No, I won't give up..."_

As the dark hue of night engulfed the sky completely, many of the audience who weren't breaking off in pairs to sway to the uplifting melody, had lifted their phones or flashlights, dotting the sea of waving hands with pinpricks of light. A gentle breeze had picked up and lent the grounds some cool relief.

With the soulful music, the twinkling night and the swirling wind, the atmosphere had never been so ripe for the rush of honest, sincere emotion.

"I love you, Felicity," Oliver whispered, unable to hold back his feelings any longer.

He felt her stiffen at his declaration for a few beats before she seemed to recover herself and began to move with him again. He was a little disappointed that she didn't say it back but he convinced himself that it was a small price to pay for the many times he had failed her. He knew it was too much to ask her to tell him she loved him. After all, he had told her he loved her four times before, and though he had meant it to some degree every single time, he had never really been there to allow her to share it, to revel in it, to enjoy it. He was far from the man she deserved. _Her not saying it back doesn't make it any less real, though_ , he told himself. _And he didn't say it to hear it back._ He had said it because it was his truth and he will keep saying it until she believed it, until she trusted it. All he had hoped for was a chance to earn her love, to earn back her trust when it came to her heart, and she was giving him that opportunity. And he promised himself that this time, he would not fail them both. So, he held onto her tightly while he kept them swaying slowly in time with the song.

 _"...I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily_  
 _I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make_  
 _Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use_  
 _The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake_  
 _And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend_  
 _For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn_  
 _We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in_  
 _I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am_

 _I won't give up on us_  
 _Even if the skies get rough_  
 _I'm giving you all my love_  
 _I'm still looking up, I'm still looking up._

 _Well, I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)_  
 _God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)_  
 _We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)_  
 _God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)_

 _I won't give up on us_  
 _Even if the skies get rough_  
 _I'm giving you all my love_  
 _I'm still looking up."_

And as the last bars of the song had played and as the crowd rumbled their applause, Oliver held Felicity closer to him for a bit and kissed her hair, savoring that one small moment with her.

Felicity carefully stepped back from him then, her face, for the first time seeming unreadable, unavailable to him. But before either of them could say anything (especially about them three little words), Thea had ambushed them with an overly delighted squeal. "Look at you, big brother!" She had said after capturing a quick snapshot of the couple just as the music had ended. "We're all about ready to call it a night!" She exclaimed, pointing to Tommy, Laurel, Roy, Barry, Caitlin and Cisco who weren't that far away from them. "The concert's gonna wrap up after just a few more songs and well, I, for one, don't wanna get trapped in exit traffic. You guys coming?"

Oliver looked at his sister but couldn't seem to come up with an answer – his mind still caught in the mystery of Felicity's confusing reaction.

"Yeah, yes, sure," Felicity had said, almost grateful for the diversion from all the awkwardness that had suddenly crept up between her and Oliver. She had followed the brunette, taking Oliver by the arm and tugging him with her as they had made their way from the concert grounds back to their erstwhile patch of green.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

They had all left the Gardens shortly after a quick clean-up and a round of goodbyes at the gate. Oliver's friends have all been but clueless about another almost seismic shift in his and Felicity's dynamic. He distracted himself by immersing himself in their farewells. Lyla kissed his cheek and Sara had hugged him. Digg had followed them with a pat in the back. Thea hugged him after he had given Roy a noogie (with the poor guy shoving at him for messing with his hair) before they took their leave and split. Laurel also hugged him goodbye just before Tommy, in a departure from their routine back slap, had given him a bro-hug and told him to play it cool. He had waited a little bit off to the side as Felicity and their Central City friends bid their own goodbyes to the rest.

He looked at her then, took her in. There had always been a genuine warmth to her that had made her approachable. Her smile was real, her hugs sincere, her voice kind, but when she had finished all her goodbyes and had walked back to where he was, she had directed all her conversation to Barry or Caitlin or Cisco, who had been, like him, all waiting for her to end her goodbye cuddle with baby Sara.

When everybody else had started trekking back towards their own parking spaces, Oliver had led his party to where he had left his X5. Felicity was talking with Cisco about some thing or other and had unconsciously fallen in step beside him. Despite being near her, it had felt like he was suddenly invisible. Her warmth, to him was distant, her touch absent, her voice reserved. And it had become clear to him that it had all started with his confession. He had jumped the gun with it. He very well knew that now. It had made her wary and had pushed her to put up walls. But she had hugged him back after he had said those three words, hadn't she? Laid her head on his chest? What did that mean? Had it been their swan song then? Maybe another goodbye?

Before he had an answer to any of his own questions, however, they had reached his parked SUV. He had opened Felicity's door for her, and she had hopped in with a small, murmured thank you – the first words she had spoken to him in a while. But she had forgone his offered hand and avoided his probing eyes. _So it was going to be like that then_ – like so many of his parents' own 'polite disagreements' when present with company. He had curtly nodded his head and closed her door, maybe even slammed it a little. _Fine, he could take a hint._

At least his friends were oblivious to their little tiff. When everybody was buckled in and ready to leave, he had asked Barry where they needed to be dropped off and his friend had answered that the train station near his place would be fine. He acknowledged Barry with a nod and pulled out of his parking space. And with a final look at the main gate, he bid a silent goodbye to the memory of their blissful afternoon at the Gardens.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

On the drive to the station, both Oliver and Felicity were both careful to keep the general conversation going with their friends – laughing, if a little bit forced at some of their funny anecdotes and throwing in a few comments, albeit almost too eagerly. Oliver had mentally thanked Thea for rounding up the others early and urging them to leave before the concert had finished. He was glad that traffic was not going to be another problem on his plate. With relatively clear roads, it was going to be, at the very least, a bearable ride.

The train station was starting to pack by the time they had gotten there but he had managed to find them some decent parking at the curb. He jumped out of his seat just right after he had stopped the engine and proceeded to open the rear compartment and help their friends with their bags. By the time he and the guys had unloaded everything, Felicity and Caitlin were already hugging and saying their goodbyes.

Barry had been the first one to turn back to him, "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem," he replied as he offered his hand.

Barry shook it and brought him in for a bro-hug. "You got the girl, Oliver. Time to keep her," his friend had whispered before their hug ended.

Oliver playfully cuffed Barry's shoulder as he stepped away. "No need to remind me. But you have to go. Don't want you to be late again."

"Oliver," Caitlin had called, diverting his attention to her smiling face. She was extending a hug to him so he had caught it and returned it. "Please take care of her," she whispered.

 _If only she would let me_ , his mind quipped. But he didn't say that, instead he smiled at her as she came down from her tippy toes, "I will." That earned him another smile from the brunette before she stepped aside to get her bag from where Barry had placed it on the ground.

Cisco was the last to approach him while Felicity was hugging Barry.

"My man," the engineer had said, holding out his fist for a bump.

Oliver playfully bumped his friend's fist with his. "You take care," he had said.

"Always," Cisco answered as he made his way to Barry and Caitlin, who were a few steps away, waiting for him by the entrance.

"And Cisco," Oliver had called out just as his friend had reached the gate, "You might want to try a spray-on cooling powder," he shouted, giving his friend another option to the chafing issue.

Cisco had laughed, nodded and raised his hand in farewell as the three of them disappeared into the station.

"So, where to?" Oliver had politely asked Felicity (whom he didn't notice had made her way closer to his side) just to break the ice.

Her eyebrows met in confusion before she spoke, "Your place, of course."

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Felicity remembered all too well how she had stilled at Oliver's words just as soon as he'd said it. Everything was fine, stellar even until he'd said " _I love you"_. She had almost huffed at that because all she heard was her rational voice scoffing at her. _Huh, you know what those words mean. You very well know what comes after._

She was as aware then as she was now that those three words had always been the death knell in all of her relationships with the opposite sex – be it with her father, Cooper, Oliver or Ray _._ It was different with Ray only insomuch as she was the one who had left him when those three words popped up. But the premise holds true: every time those three words come to within an inch of her relationships, everything gets out of whack. _Every. Single. Time._

 _No, it's different this time,_ the naughty one had protested.

She had then willed the voices in her head to can it and focused instead on the way Oliver had held her, the way he had moved with her. She had brought him closer to her orbit and laid her head on his chest, allowing him to sweep her body along until the final fading strains of music. She had wanted her fairytale.

That had been at the Gardens, not even an hour ago but now, in the silence of the car ride home, the conversation she really didn't want with herself came rushing back. Her mind had started and she couldn't really switch it off. Without the banter of Barry, Caitlin and Cisco usurping her attention, the voices in her head just exploded and she had been trapped inside her mind ever since she had gotten back into the car with Oliver.

 _How many times will you put yourself through this, Felicity!_ Her rational voice admonished. _How many times will you let him get away with saying those words, when he can't stay long enough to really mean them?_

Her naughty side was equally adamant in stating the obvious. _He chose you this time. He's choosing you now._

 _Yeah, but only until when? The numbers say it all. Three out of three times, he's checked out before you two even started –_

 _It's four times, stupid! Remember? In the mansion, before that One-Eyed-Juiced-Up-Whack-a-doodle came after us? Jeez, if you're going to argue with numbers, get it right!_

 _I thought we weren't counting that?_

 _We are! As unthinkable as it seemed, it counts! Trust me, it does._

 _Which just underscores my point! That's four strikes, Felicity – one over the limit. Don't you think it's a little naïve to go give him one more? When are you ever going to learn? They all say they love you and they always leave you. They're all the same. Play it safe, Felicity._

 _You don't get to launch a pre-emptive strike, Felicity Smoak! You know Oliver is different. You promised him a fair chance. Don't be going back on your word now. You hear me!_

 _There was no verbal agreement. She didn't really say yes!_

 _It was a tacit agreement! What the hell was this morning for? And all these hugs and kisses and heart eyes?_

 _Shut up! Just shut up!_ Felicity silently screamed to the warring witches in her head. She felt like she was being pulled in two different directions – one dictated by her brain, the other by her heart. She was grateful that the ride was over before she could jump out of the car into the middle of the road. She jumped out to the concrete of the parking lot instead, her bouquet forgotten in her seat.

Oliver was equally silent on the way back to his place. A babbling Felicity he could handle but an eerily quiet one – he would've preferred her screaming at the top of her lungs at him, at least then he would have an idea of what was going through her mind. He had always found the way she unwittingly telegraphed her thoughts endearing but now that she was just a big loud blanket of noiseless tension, she was driving him insane. Without the buffer his friends provided, the five-minute ride home from the train station had become suffocating, unbearable.

It was almost a relief that she left the car immediately as it came to a stop. He took a few seconds to steel himself for what was surely to come. _This was it. Balls to the wall. This was it._ He took a deep breath and followed her out of the car.

She was standing in front of the elevator bay, staring off really, almost absently into space. She didn't even see him as he made his way towards her. Seeing the call button unlit, he was just about to press it when he found himself being dragged to a dimly lit alcove just behind the elevator bay.

"Felicity, wha–"

And then she had his face between her hands. And then she was pulling him to her, kissing him hotly, sucking and licking at his lips while she pushed him against the wall. If his head wasn't spinning, half-crazed first from all his earlier dread and now, half-stunned by his almost raging desire, he would've been impressed. For a woman who barely came up to his chin and had half his heft, getting the jump on him was something.

Her lips had left his by the time he had fully registered what was happening. They had found their way between wet licks down the column of his throat to the vee of his neck. Her hands had shifted too. They were now busy lifting his shirt from where it was tucked into his pants. As soon as her hands found skin, his body and mind snapped her into focus.

"You deserve a bed," he said as he freed her hair from her ponytail and buried his fingers in its luxuriant mass.

Distracted by his hands running through her scalp, she lifted her lips from his neck. "I'm not complaining," she answered, almost too swiftly, before she kissed him hard back on the mouth.

By that time, he didn't care that her glasses were askew, that her hair was all over the place. He just cradled her jaw in one hand and started laying his own kisses on her supple lips. His other hand, sought the hair at her nape, pulling, tilting her mouth more into his as he sipped from her, searching, tasting her. Wresting control, he spun them around, pressing her flush against the wall. He turned her face then, still with that one hand on her jaw, so that he could suck at the throbbing skin at the side of her neck, at the back of her ear. As soon as his tongue touched skin, he felt her shudder against him.

Her mind rebelled at his tender assault, at his loving caresses, even as her body had shuddered at his kisses. She wanted sex – raw, hot, wicked sex. And so she had again turned the nature of their coupling. Her kisses then had almost turned into bites, her hands rabid, began to attack his belt.

Her hands were shaking, her frustrated fingers insistent but unsuccessful with his belt. Her actions were verging on desperate, screaming with panic. _Something was wrong_ , Oliver thought.

"Felicity…" he said, hoping to get her to slow down. But she didn't. He took her firmly by her wrists then and shook her, "Felicity!"

His urgent voice, more than his hands on her wrists, was what startled Felicity from the frantic thoughts that were racing through her mind. She lifted her gaze to him before she abruptly turned away, not wanting him to see the panic, the conflict in her tearing eyes. Getting physical had diverted her attention from thinking. For all of her very high regard for her own genius intellect, she had gotten to a point where she really didn't like to think anymore – it just made her head ache and her heart break.

The next thing she knew Oliver's mouth was already hungrily on hers, opening hers against his, kissing her fiercely, relentlessly; his tongue insolent, branding her; his strong arm lifting her easily against the wall; his warm body grinding her against the cold concrete. There was nothing gentle or chaste in his kisses now. No slow, languid licks. No soothing caress on her smooth skin. Surrounded by 180 pounds of aroused male, enveloped by his virile strength, cocooned in his scorching warmth and drugged by his hard demanding kisses, she felt her body sag against him, heavy with lust. There was no denying him.

There was no room for doubt. There was no room for fear. There was only him.

And so she had surrendered all thought and lost herself in Oliver – the greedy hotness of his tongue against hers, the rough heat of his fingers splayed against her skin, the sliding softness of his hair against her fingers, the insistent pressure of his lips and teeth as they seized and nipped at a nipple that was straining against her dress, the reflexive rippling of his muscles at her touch, the rasp of his stubble against her neck. She gloried in his body's reaction to her as she reveled in hers to him. She had been so distracted by these sensations that she hadn't noticed just how quickly his calloused fingers had brushed her panties aside and had tested her lush heat.

"Tell me now, Felicity, if you really want this," Oliver insisted as he adjusted her hips to receive him and lined his insistent flesh against her most intimate opening. She was wet, she was wanton, and he hoped to hell, she was really willing.

He felt her nod against his shoulder. "Say it," he commanded, leaning her back against the wall so he could see her face, so there was nowhere she could hide. "Please," he urged.

"Yes, Oliver. Please," she begged, as she held him closer, tighter.

He kept his eyes on her as he pushed into her an inch. She squirmed at his size.

He kissed her neck then, coaxing her, "Relax, babe. Let me take care of you. Let me make this good for you."

As he felt her body yield, he brought her full weight down on him, until her toes almost grazed the floor.

He heard her groan as her head slumped on his shoulder.

"You okay?" He asked, because he almost wasn't. His knees almost buckled at the pleasure that had engulfed him. _Fuck,_ he thought.

Felicity was more than okay. She felt alive. She felt free. She felt every inch of him inside her, from his hot thick slide opening her to the fullness of her completely sheathing him. She shivered as she clung to him. _Good. So, so fucking good._ She sighed.

Her satisfied moan was encouragement enough for Oliver to move. And so he had. And with every stroke, they had both lost themselves in each other. With every kiss, they had found themselves again.

It was sexy, the sounds she made with his every thrust; erotic, the way her limbs tightened around his body as she received him; stunning; the way her lips parted with her pleasure. She would be the death of him, this woman, his Felicity. And Oliver had looked at her until he could, until he had brought her, until he had heard her screaming his name, until he had felt her pleasure gripping his. All thought had splintered then, all movement driven by his basest desire to the singular point of his orgasm. He had growled then, trying to fight it, wanting to prolong it for her, but he was helpless to stop the ripples of pleasure that had seized his body.

Felicity had already been swimming in wanton delight when her body had again woken to his more insistent demands. He had been fucking her through her orgasm and she had felt herself thrilling again to the rhythm, to the harsher beat. And so she had met his every movement and allowed herself to be swept yet again, the lights of her consciousness flickering, as he buried himself in her, once, then twice as he spilled.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

It was a long time before either of them had enough strength to move. A gentle hand sought her nape, buried into her hair and pressed her head more ﬁrmly against his shoulder, as if he were trying to shield her from something – maybe from the impending reality that was threatening to break into their moment. He held her like that for a few seconds more, still buried inside her before he let out a quiet curse.

He began to move, lifting her off him. She let out a distressed groan at his withdrawal, at the wetness that followed, sliding out and down the inside of her thighs.

He felt her trembling as he set her down, so he held her to him until he was sure that her feet were planted solidly on the ground. Convinced that she had regained enough strength in her legs to keep herself from falling, he began to clean her up and put their clothes back in place as best he could. She couldn't look at him so she kept her head against his chest as he did all that.

"I'm going to take you upstairs, we'll get cleaned up, and – Come to my bed, Felicity. Let… let me make love to you properly. I didn't mean – I… I can make it so much better for you. I –"

He felt her fingers on his lips.

Felicity was a little sore, a lot vulnerable and had still to confront more than a few truths of her own – chief among them was the shame she had begun to feel at having taken advantage of him, of having used him so callously for sex. They needed to talk. "We need to talk," she quietly said.

Oliver knew those words and knew what they meant. After all, he had said them first. He sagged into her, leaning his forehead on the cold concrete. For all of their misunderstandings, they spoke each other's language well. He exhaled, trying to steady himself against the onrush of uncertainty, of anxiety, of dread, of fear.

 _So this was how it felt like_ , he thought, _getting all your hopes up and having them crumble_. He felt cold, unsteady. He felt another breath leave him. Of all that he had to survive in the last eight years, this might be what does him in. He wouldn't survive this.

He knew that she loved him, but maybe not enough to willingly admit it? Or maybe she wasn't saying it because she loved him too much to hurt him if she had decided to end them now, once and for all. Maybe love just wasn't enough. Maybe _he_ wasn't enough. She was smart and maybe she had learned that lesson all too well. And he couldn't really blame her for wanting out. After all, he had set the script, hadn't he?

But the thought of losing someone he cared about, someone he loved…

It brought him back to just before his mother's political rally, to just before Felicity had revealed his mother's secret to him. He'd told her then that she was not going to lose him but she had. Multiple times, she had. For all his talk about not wanting to know what life would feel like without her, she had lived it – that life without him. And here she still was, giving him a chance, because he'd asked for it. And it looked like that chance was just about up. It felt a lot like everything was about to end.

 _But not yet._ He would beg, he would grovel, maybe even kiss her feet.

It was then that he felt a newfound respect for the woman in front of him. She had endured his rejection so many times and had not faltered. He had, in turns, frustrated her and angered her but she had stood beside him, stood by the mission even as he had repeatedly pushed her away.

Another breath escaped him. It was the least he could do – listen to what she had to say. So they were going to talk. "Okay," he said, feeling as if an eternity had passed when it had only been mere seconds in fact. "Where do you want to do this?"

"Upstairs is fine."

And because he couldn't let her go just yet, he took her hand in his, threaded his fingers in hers and led her back to the elevator bay and to the hard, undeniable truths they had to face.

* * *

I am almost sorry for putting Oliver through this hell but the muse decreed that he must pay his dues. Feel free to lash out on the comments section below! (No, really, feel free to point out unresolved issues so that I can tie them up or at least address them in the last chapter!)

Last chapter is halfway done! I promise not to make you wait for another week before I put it out. Kisses!

Oh, and song credits: 1) Song quoted in text: I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz, 2) Song I used to help set up the steamy atmosphere: Infinity/Wicked Game Mash Up - Carolina Wallace


	8. Chapter 8

And so we have reached the final chapter in this installment. It has been such a great ride, you guys! And I thank you from the very bottom of my heart.

I hope you really enjoy this. And so, my wonderful friends, I leave you to it. XOXO

* * *

Chapter 8

Once they had reached his penthouse, she went straight to the kitchen. He didn't follow her right away though. He needed a break. It had been an interminably long and excruciatingly silent elevator ride to his apartment.

He rested his back against the door he had just closed to steady himself. He took a deep breath, held it and let it out completely. And then he did it again. When he thought he had gotten some semblance of his infamous composure back, he made his way to the where she had disappeared to, equally seeking and dreading the realities they both had to share.

She was seated atop the counter, facing the fridge, very much like when he had set her on it last night, except that she was now gorging herself on half-a-pint of mint chocolate chip. He stood opposite her, his back against the closed fridge door, his arms crossed on his chest. He felt every inch of the three-and-a-half feet that separated them.

"Processing?" He asked tentatively, unsure of what was going through her mind.

She looked up at him then, her fifth spoonful of ice cream suddenly suspended in mid-air.

And then she started to cry.

He took a couple of steps towards her, just because he couldn't help himself. And because the pang in his heart demanded it, he carefully pried away the spoon from her right hand, the ice cream container from the other, and set them aside before he abolished the remaining distance between them. He folded her into his arms and felt her quiet tears turn into broken sobs that tore deeply into his soul.

"I'm so sorry, Oliver. I'm just so scared," she whispered into his ear. He stiffened. He didn't know if that was an apology or a rejection. But then again he felt her hug him closer, squeezing him towards herself, with one of her arms banding across his back and the other cradling the top of his head, holding him like she was afraid he would break.

It was only then, with her weeping against him, with him feeling her shuddering sobs that he understood the depth of her heartache and the breadth of her soul. Here was a woman whose heart he had shattered not just once but whose enormous capacity to love allowed her to comfort the very man who did the breaking.

He was awed, humbled. He didn't know what to do with himself. He almost didn't know what else to say. He hated himself so much right then for hurting her like this to want to leave her alone but he loved her more than that, she deserved so much more than that, so he pulled her closer to him as more of her tears wet his shirt. He couldn't let her go. Not yet. And if he had his way, not ever.

"I'm so sorry too, Felicity," Oliver said, hearing his own voice break as he continued to hold her in his arms, "I'm sorry for hurting you so much, that I'm making this so much harder on you." He slowly pulled away from her so that he could look at her, taking her face between both of his hands, wanting her to see him as he said what he was about to say, "But I'm right here. I'm right here being scared with you. I'm so scared that I might've already ruined this for the both of us, so please, tell me what to do." With his grief naked in his eyes and his desperation plain in his voice, he begged as his own tears began to cloud his eyes, "Tell me how to make this right."

She held the hands on her face with the both of hers and closed her eyes.

"You have to understand, Oliver," she spoke as she squeezed his hands, "My dad used to say that he loves me right up to the day he abandoned me and my mom. And… and Cooper, he said that to me right until I thought he hung himself and died. So… so, every time you say it, I can't… Then you said it and then... then you d – died…" she paused, breaking into more sobs, "And now, I… I – my brain screams at me to leave you!"

And he knew very well how she loved her brain, how much she listened to it. Oliver didn't know what to feel right then – overwhelming guilt, sincere regret, unrelenting grief, incredible frustration, reluctant defeat. Eventually, he had settled on desperate hope. _This was really it – the last stand, the final act._ And so he had laid down his only card, his only remaining gambit. He was going to back off but only if she willed it. "Then tell me to stop, Felicity. Ask me to leave," he said, dreading her answer as he began to let his hands slide away from her.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

 _That_ coming from him had silenced the screaming banshees in Felicity's head. Even the rational witch had balked at the idea. It was only then that she realized that her inner turmoil had been predicated on her questioning his love for her, not the other way around. In the last 24 hours, she had been busy playing out her fantasies, living her quiet dreams, not quite believing it but making the best of it while it lasted. And then he had said he loved her at the park. And she really didn't believe it, didn't trust it… until just now.

In the heady rush of this epiphany, all her fears, all her doubts had succumbed to one undeniable truth: she, Felicity Meghan Smoak, was still and will always be irrefutably and irrevocably in love with one Oliver Jonas Queen. And he had finally given her a say in it, given her a chance to do something about it.

So, she sidled a little bit to the edge of the counter so that she could get to him, wrapping herself around him using all of her arms and legs to box him in, and said without further ado, "I won't."

Oliver stilled at her words, surprised, then mollified. "Why?" He asked as he felt himself soar with hope.

"I can't."

"Why?" He asked again, this time, returning her embrace, clinging to her tighter because he knew he was pushing his luck.

She gave a breathy sigh. "Because I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you," she said as she relaxed into his hold, her singular voice clear despite her hiccups.

He sighed. She had totally quoted Dirty Dancing to him and both his brain and heart had never been so glad, so relieved that he chuckled into her hair despite the tears that had fallen from his eyes. If that was the closest she could get to saying 'I love you' at this time, he was fine with it. "Does that make me Patrick Swayze, then?"

Felicity laughed heartily at his quip, surprised that he had caught the reference. "Nope," she teased between sniffles, "You can't dance." He chuckled at that before she added, "But, I'd take you over him on any given day. You know why?" She felt him shake his head. "Because you don't have a mullet, for one," she continued, carding her fingers through his hair while he buried his mirth on her neck. "And… and you look absolutely better shirtless." That got him cracking up so hard, he had to step back from her to get enough air into his lungs.

"You could have led with those last bits, you know," Oliver said, as he touched his forehead to hers and inhaled her calming scent once he had recovered from his laughing fit. "For a moment there, I thought that you would make me leave you."

"And would you have? If I had asked?" She pressed, pulling away a little to look at him.

"I would have given you your space but ultimately, no," he said resolutely, "I wouldn't have."

"Why?"

"I can't," he said as a mischievous grin broke his face. He had been expecting this endless loop of whys.

"Why?" She asked, matching his smile.

"So I can kiss you anytime I want?" He said with a tentative smile, gamely quoting a line from a romantic comedy he'd all but forgotten until just then. _Well, she started it._

Felicity blinked twice at his comeback. _Did he just quote Sweet Home Alabama to her? Yup, he totally did._ "Nope. Nu-uh. Try Again."

"Because you complete me?"

"Ehngk!" She hollered laughingly as she did her best imitation of the buzzer that goes off at every wrong answer. "Now you're just being cute. Again."

"Because I like you very much, just as you are," he declared with a pretty good fake British accent.

"You're getting better. Care to try one more time?"

"Because you make me want to be a better man," he stated, plainly and sincerely.

"That's… that's," Felicity stuttered between giggles, not entirely sure if he had stopped joking – with him, she never really knew but she liked this playful side. "That's really, very good… Where is all this coming from?" She asked with her eyebrows arching despite her chuckles. She had a feeling he could go on and on and on, spewing the whole gamut of cheesy but effective one-liners from the whole history of romantic film.

"Time well-spent as a wayward youth," Oliver smirked glibly as he kissed away the furrow on her brow. He could skirt around saying 'I love you' until she was ready to hear those words from him without totally wigging out. He was patient enough to wait her out and there was a heck of a lot more where those lines came from. Teenage Ollie and Tommy had been nothing but diligent and oh so very thorough when it came to 'necessary research'.

It took a few more beats for her laughter to settle into a pensive silence. She looked at him then.

"What?" He asked her, with a curiosity sparked by yet another change in her mood.

A small, enigmatic smile appeared on her lips at his query, just before a high rosy flush colored her cheeks. She shook her head at him then.

"Fe-li-ci-ty…" He said, now with a hint of uncertainty in his amused voice. "What is it?" He asked as he held her hands with his and squeezed.

Felicity squeezed back just as she tilted her head up and let her solemn eyes fall on his – blue eyes squarely locking on blue. And then, because she was unable to suppress the overwhelming feeling that was pouring out of her soul, she confessed, "I love you."

It was plain. It was simple. It was the God's honest truth.

His breath hitched. His heart stopped. He was incredibly stunned. He hadn't expected that. No, not one bit.

 _Did that just happen?_ Felicity asked herself. It had never come so easily to her – those three words and she had said them to Oliver, without preamble, without a stutter, without so much as a hitch in her breath. There was a rush of nervous giddiness that suddenly hit her. And it was the good kind. And she was suddenly brimming with pure joy and felt it sparking off from her, from the very top of her head to the very tips of her toes. It had been so long since she had felt so good, that the only thing she could really do was smile from deep within her soul.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

For the nth time in the last 24 hours, Oliver didn't know what to do with himself. _She said it. She really did._ He felt the breath he was holding whoosh out of him. And then he was shaking his head, trying to ditch the feeling of unreality.

He felt his heart beat again.

And then he had gazed upon the woman who had turned his life upside-down-and-all-around. She looked really happy. Her eyes were alight with it, her smile bursting. Then he felt his own lips breaking into a shit-eating grin. _They were doing this. They were damn well doing this._

A really hearty chuckle broke out from him as he stepped closer to her and just gazed at her. "Felicity Smoak, what you do to me…" He whispered fervently even when his eyes had crinkled with such unfettered lightness. He took her glasses off then and held her face for a moment, wiping away her tears and just savoring the very sight of her. And since he couldn't restrain himself any longer, he just swooped in to plant a big kiss on her lips.

It had been a chaste kiss by any standard, no more than just a sweet, soft pressing of their lips that lasted not even ten seconds or five. But in all of her life, Felicity had never been kissed like that, like all the love, the energy and the happiness they both felt had been distilled into that one simple touch.

And it was glorious.

So, so glorious that it made them do it again, and then again and yet again, until she had broken away from him, and sighing, looked at him. "Are we both done wigging out now?" She had asked him, her mirth plain in her eyes.

He chuckled then, because he couldn't really seem to do anything else. "Yeah, yes, I think we are," he said as he returned her gaze, his fingers reverently grazing her cheeks.

"Then take us upstairs, Oliver. Take us home."

xxxxXXXXxxxx

It wasn't until later, when she was lying breathlessly on her stomach, replete after multiple rounds of lovemaking, that Felicity began to seriously doubt the sustainability of their very fiery physical connection. For Google's sake, her whole body was still shivering from the nth time she'd come in the last two hours. The exact number had escaped her (she was too busy enjoying every single one to count) but if she'd asked Oliver, who was totally keeping score (well, he was until he just passed out a few seconds ago), he would _smugly_ tell her that the current tally stands at her 7 to his 3. And it wasn't even close to midnight. _Yet._ Not that she was complaining, but still.

Oliver, who until then, had been seriously out of it, stirred on her back. The movement effectively interrupted her rambling thoughts.

Until a couple of seconds ago, Oliver had just enough energy to pull out of her and flop down on the bed on his own stomach. He gave himself a couple of seconds more to recover some strength in his arms, before he gathered her close. "Are you okay? I can hear you thinking," he said, his voice still raspy with rawness.

Felicity scooted back against him, laying her head on his shoulder as he spooned against her. "How are we ever going to survive this?" She asked, almost incredulously. At the rate they were going, she would probably never walk straight again.

Despite his orgasm-induced haze, Oliver found himself chuckling. Felicity and her questions – it would never cease to amaze him. "Together, how else?" He answered plainly as he kissed her hair and twined their fingers together.

She just had to chuckle at that – Oliver and his way with words. _Yes, of course. There was no choice to make._ She squeezed his fingers with hers then and let herself finally settle into his embrace, allowing the cares of the world to slip away.

And just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she had heard him say, "I love you, Felicity."

And she felt nothing but loved. She felt safe. She felt whole.

And she knew then, that after so many years spent alone and wandering, she had found her home. So had he.

 _Finally._

-FIN-

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This may be the end... but only for now. This is just the first installment in a series. And I hope you let me know what you thought about this freshman effort in the review section below. It will greatly guide me to set the tone on the sequel(s), which I hope you will go on to enjoy.

It may be a while still before I post the first chapter of the sequel (I just got a new job!), but in the next few weeks, I'll begin to roll out a collection of extra scenes (that I've already written but unfortunately, cut out) from Finally and also begin to post chapters from the Snowbarry spin-off (goes by "Crimson Kiss") which will explore the case the CC trio has been working on in this work. Until then, my dear readers, may you continue to bask in Olicity goodness! Kisses!


	9. Chapter 9: BONUS!

Because I couldn't help myself (and because I've been having a GINORMOUS block!), I've written this bonus chapter featuring Oliver and Felicity's morning after. I debated whether to put this under Extra! Extra! but it fits in here better so, here it is. Feel free to comment/review/check-in/drop a line/leave kudos below! You know the drill. XOXO

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BONUS: The Morning After: An Epilogue to Finally

There used to be more fuss to Oliver waking up. His stay in the island changed all that. Since then, waking was usually an escape from nightmare after nightmare – a routine marked by a massive rush of adrenaline followed shortly by a surge of hyper-awareness. There was no languid stretching after a good morning yawn. No hazy fluttering between sleep and wakefulness. It was usually just a matter of opening his eyes and he was up – awake and ever-alert, relieved for a nanosecond that his nightmare had ended only to realize that another truer one had begun.

But none of that was happening this morning.

Where there had usually been a niggling feeling of the sunlight shafting his eyes, now there were only the gentle, teasing tendrils of warmth. Where there had only been the earthy scent of damp dirt, there was now the faint sweetness of citrus. And where there used to be an outpouring of dreadful wariness, there was only a contented satisfaction.

 _It must be heaven_.

His subconscious, having realized only then the abject absurdity of this situation, began a cursory check. It wiggled his toes and flexed his fingers. _Okay._ Once all limbs were accounted for, it began to place his body in space. The feel of the firm mattress supporting him told it that he was on a bed. The familiar way it cushioned his body told his mind it was his. The soft cool kiss of the sheets on his skin _everywhere_ told it that he was naked. And the small hand that was softly splayed on his stomach told his brain that he was naked on his bed with someone else.

The gradual withdrawal of said hand was enough for his sensate body to miss it and shift accordingly, following the direction of the limb's egress from his person. Once turned, his nose was met with a stronger whiff of that orangey fragrance – a scent which triggered the release of endorphins that sent a ripple of contentment throughout his very core. His muscles, which were usually primed for attack at this time of day, relaxed but his almost waking mind made a grudging stand against the blissful assault. It did a quick rundown of ambient noise and came up with the sounds of gentle breathing, a distinct but distant chirping and then… _nothing_ . Haptic feedback reported an expanse of warm, soft smoothness.

 _There was no threat here_ , his brain concluded. _No need to rise._

Freed then from the constraint of his mind, his body instinctively curled up against the source of its heavenly pleasure and continued its peaceful slumber.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

The sunlight pelting Felicity's eyes signaled yet another day in the life. Her waking brain, which was still heavily reminded of their pretty crapulous waking the morning before, had carefully started to go over its daily mental checklist.

 _Her name was Felicity Meghan Smoak. She was 25 years old. Today was a Sunday._ At that realization, her body gave a lazy stretch.

Where she would have jarred herself into a throbbing headache and a queasy stomach the day before, there was only an incredible lightness of being, and ooh, a very delicious ache to her sated muscles. She leaned back, sinking against the soft pillows, savoring the warmth of… _another human being in bed with her!_ Her thoughts scrambled when she felt the press of a very solid wall of very human flesh against her back.

Her eyes startled open as stark awareness flooded in. She was very much naked under the sheets and was in bed with… Her eyes followed the arm that was wrapped around her waist to find out. _She was in bed with none other than Oliver Queen!_ She sighed as she turned in his arms to face him. _Who would've thought that Oliver Queen was an A+ cuddle bunny?_ She just had to smile.

He seemed much younger, less wearied, more relaxed in sleep than she had ever seen him. Now fully awake, she allowed her eyes to take her fill, using the time of his slumber to stare at him freely. It was one of her most secret joys, this. She rarely indulged herself, however, having always felt like an interloper in his very private world… until now… until last night.

Last night had been something else entirely. She had wild monkey sex with Oliver. And yet it had been so much more than that. They had made crazy, sweet, dirty love. _Multiple times!_ She sighed, letting her fingers lightly trace his jaw. She was ruined for any other man for life. She felt branded to her soul.

Unbidden images of a house and laughing children crossed her mind. She immediately snapped herself from it, shaking her head. They were a long way from that – _a long, long, long way and that's IF they decide to go down that road, heaven forbid! _She was getting way too far ahead of herself.

 _Yeah, right! And who just had unprotected sex last night, hmm?_ The rational voice in her head admonished.

 _Hello? Like there's a possibility of getting pregnant. And it's not as if you weren't also cross-eyed with bliss like the rest of us. It was phenomenal sex!_ The naughty one countered.

 _So not the point!_

The internal argument, however, was cut short by an adamant and very audible growl from her stomach. All that hanky-panky had made her really hungry and the thought of chocolate-smothered buttermilk pancakes had her salivating. Those seemed like a very timely distraction and a readily attainable goal, so she quietly planted a small kiss on Oliver's lips and carefully slipped herself from his embrace, replacing her form with a fluffy pillow, and went on to start the new day.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Oliver snuggled into the softness that surrounded him, searching for the source of warmth his body knew was near. His hand, finding in its stead a cold cushion, had sent a reflex to his brain that had him immediately snapping to wakefulness.

As his heart pounded in his chest, he felt his senses go on full-alert and his muscles gearing up for action. And then he identified the aroma of Felicity's favorite morning brew. He took another deep breath just to be sure he wasn't still dreaming.

If it weren't for the smell of coffee, he would've thought that she had left him. He'd slipped and blurted out another 'I Love You' during one of the many times they'd taken a brief rest from making love. He had hoped that she was asleep by then or that she hadn't caught it, and based on the fact that she was still in his place, it looked like he was in the clear _._ He really didn't want to freak her out again. He won't be able to handle her leaving him after this weekend. _She was it for him._

He had never spent so much time in bed post-Lian Yu, that he was feeling genuinely disoriented. Usually he'd be just about done with his morning work-out by this time, but in exchange for all the energy he'd burned last night, he was willing to let it slide.

He settled back into the bed, getting his body sorted. Once he'd gotten over the initial jolt of waking, he was calm instead of hyper-alert, his muscles relaxed instead of raring-to-go. He felt rested and content with a bone-deep satisfaction that he had never before experienced. He sighed into Felicity's pillow.

Last night was epic, to say the least. He had never felt as connected with a partner as he had been with her. It was not so much about making an impression (though the libidinous part of his brain was willing to bet that they'd impressed the hell out of each other – _Come on, they'd pretty much screwed each other's brains out!_ ), but it felt more like a mutual expression of passion. Felicity had been as hungry for him as he had been for her. He had felt it in every way she had kissed him, every way she had touched him, every way she had come for him.

He felt his body stir at the recollection. They went at it a lot of different ways last night and he couldn't really decide which way he enjoyed the most. They were _that_ good together!

 _Yeah, and with the way you two went at it, don't be surprised if you've already knocked her up!_ A voice in the back of his head taunted.

That had him bolting upright. _Shit._ They hadn't used a condom and he'd come inside her every single time.

 _What's so wrong with having a baby with her?_ The same voice asked.

Except for that long-ago pregnancy scare, the notion of having his own family rarely, if ever, crossed his mind. Since then, the thought of having a baby had always scared him shitless. Being a father had been a distant and vague idea before he got stuck on the island and it was one heck of a preposterous one after. But now that it was actually a viable prospect? _Not so much._

And the thought of Felicity with his baby?

 _Holy hell!_ Now, he was freaking himself out. He shook the image from his head and headed straight to his bathroom for a very, _very_ cold shower.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

"Hey," Oliver greeted Felicity as he stood by the kitchen's entryway. She was by the counter, stacking pancakes on heaping plates but what caught his attention was how sexy she looked in his shirt, with her unfettered locks falling past her shoulders in natural waves. He rarely got to see her like this, disheveled… delicious. _Focus!_ His brain chastised. _You have things to take care of!_

"Hey," she smiled as she saw him wander over to her in a pair of well-worn button-fly jeans, with his hair still damp and sticking up in odd angles. She tried to remember that she was busy plating the last of the pancakes. Shirtless Oliver got to her _every frackin' time!_

Oliver hugged her from behind when he reached her and kissed the side of her head, before he finally nuzzled his face against her shoulder. He silently watched her for a moment, adroitly slathering molten chocolate on the pancakes, and just breathed her in. If it were left up to him, he would've stayed like that for as long as he could but his conscience was screaming at him. _You have to talk about last night._ "Felicity, uhm, about last night… We had sex." If the voice in his head could be seen, it would have been shaking its head like its life depended on it. _Really? That's what you come up with?_

She chuckled. _Well, hello there, understatement of the century!_ "Yes, Oliver. I am _very_ aware of that fact," she said as she let go of the pan in favor of cupping the side of his face with one hand and kissing his cheek. She was about to turn her attention back to the chocolate syrup she'd started to smear on her short stack when he caught her and turned her fully in his arms to face him. He looked like he was carefully considering the words he was about to say. His serious expression put Felicity on alert. _This was important._

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and started to speak, "And, uh, we never used a condom… and I… I just want you to know, uhm, that I'm clean and…" he paused before he looked her straight in the eyes, "and if anything happens, I'll be there."

Felicity smiled blushingly at him in response. "Oliver," she said as she smoothed the lines on his forehead with her fingers, "sweetie, you don't have to worry… on both counts."

While there was a small measure of relief at that, he wanted more. "Could you elaborate on that for me, please? Just so we're really clear…" He said as he brought her closer to him. Serious topic aside, he just can't help it. He really loved it when she blushed.

"I'm clean. And although, I'm not on the pill _yet_ ," she said, feeling Oliver's arm tighten around her, "It's not the right time in my cycle to get anywhere near pregnant." He still held her tensely after that and it told her in no uncertain terms that he was not at all reassured, so she added, "But if it makes you feel any better, we can pass by the drugstore later and get something for me."

It was only then that he deflated and relaxed his hold. He touched his forehead to hers, "I'm sorry, Felicity. You might think I'm being a douche," _Laying it all on her when he should have been more responsible last night. He wasn't as emotionally distraught as she was,_ "but I just want to do this… us… right." He said as he opened his eyes.

"Oliver… I want the same thing. And I don't think you're being anything but responsible. No need to apologize," she said as she laid a hand over his heart, rubbing placating circles over his skin. But then she stopped mid-motion and quickly diverted her attention to his chest, her cheeks getting pinker, suddenly feeling shy as a realization hit her. "In fact, I should be the one who should be apologizing to you because I was the one who started it," she paused as she took a breath and turned her face towards him, "I'm sorry."

He gave her a tiny shake of his head before he cradled her face with both of his hands and just looked into her eyes. _God, I love you!_ But he caught himself before he blurted it out. Instead, he brought his lips down on hers and kissed her softly, reverently, longingly.

It wasn't long before she was returning his ardor, leaning into him on the tips of her toes to meet every single one of his loving kisses. He shifted his hands to hold the rest of her to him while her hands drew a lazy path from his chest to his abdomen, his waist and finally, to the back pockets of his jeans. She squeezed. _He can't seriously think that she could get her hands off him, right?_

He moaned as he pushed her back against the center island. He blindly moved their breakfast a little to the side before he propped her up on the kitchen counter. And all the while he continued to kiss her.

"Oliver," she groaned a few kisses later as she pulled away from him. He started kissing a trail to her neck just as soon as he'd lost contact with her lips. He sucked at her pulse as payback for the butt squeeze. Felicity shivered. _Please, Oliver, we have to stop before I make a mess and start licking chocolate off you._

It was only when she felt the tickling rasps of his chuckling breaths on the column of her throat that she realized that she had said it out loud. The mortification she felt obliterated whatever filter she had left and words began spilling from her mouth uncontrollably, "Not… not that I don't want to because I do, but because I'm hungry… for food… not you. Well, not you _you_ per se because I am hungry for you _you_ – Why aren't you stopping me?" She huffed as she planted her forehead on his shoulder.

"I like hearing you babble," he said, feeling giddy, now that he had his babbling and blushing Felicity back in full force.

An exasperated sigh escaped her, "I hate you."

He hugged her closer to him and kissed her temple. He was about to tease her some more but before he could, her stomach growled. He chuckled into her hair, before he lifted her head off his shoulder. "Come on, let's get you fed," he said as he helped her down from what was beginning to be her familiar perch on the counter top.

Then, when he'd gotten a little farther from striking distance, he teased, "Then maybe later, I could let you lick chocolate syrup off me."

"Oliver Jonas Queen!" Felicity screeched with frustration.

His hearty laughter was met with a perfectly aimed chocolate-smothered pancake to the face.

And yes!

He damn well let her lick him clean!

* * *

 **The Starling City Times _ONLINE_**

Queen Scion Rises from Ashes… Again

By Tess Mercer

Published Monday, 15 Jun 2015, 09:30AM

STARLING CITY – If there is something Oliver Queen is good at, it may be rising from the dead. Roughly three years since returning from the dead and just over a year after losing all claim to his family's corporate legacy to a bitter takeover by Stellmoor International and, then later, to a buy-out by Palmer Industries, the Starling City native celebrated the re-acquisition of his erstwhile former company, Friday, at the headquarters of the now re-branded Queen Incorporated.

The formerly down-and-out billionaire had taken back control of his company following its steep decline precipitated by the sudden (and legally presumed) death of former owner, tech titan Ray Palmer, in an accidental explosion that rocked the company's main headquarters. Palmer had started transforming the company into Palmer Technologies (the advanced technologies subsidiary of Palmer Industries) and had just about righted the ship before he met his untimely demise. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the company's stock plummeted to 52-week lows amidst the growing concern for the company's future and the rumors of possible bankruptcy.

Many are wondering how the ousted scion managed a coup in such a short period of time but it turns out that he had done it simply by craftily buying up a sizable portion of the company's debt. The move has been dubbed by some as a vulture classic, while others have labeled it heroic. Be that as it may, both camps adamantly agree that it employed a veritable level of business savvy never before attributed to one of Starling City's most [in]famous playboys.

Given his less than stellar track record, both corporate and personal, a lot of uncertainty concerning Queen's future plans for the company quickly came up in light of this latest takeover. However, this has just been as swiftly quelled it seems, by the recent installment of his father's well-respected business associate, Walter Emerson, as the new CEO. QI stocks have been consistently trading on an uptick since the announcement, but only time will really ever tell if this bullish sentiment persists.

Meanwhile, Queen, who until recently, has removed himself almost completely from public view, continues to enjoy favorable optics, being seen supporting numerous local charities and establishments, the most recent of which are the hometown hockey heroes themselves, the Starling City Stars during their triumphant return to the city after wresting the championship cup from the formidable Gotham City Knights.

The jury is still out on whether this good boy image will stick but for now, it seems that Starling City's most notorious son is well on the way of making his way back to the top.

 **MORE STORIES**

SPORTS: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! After a decade-long slump, the Starling City Stars are back to full form as they routed the Gotham City Knights, 4-3, to take the championship… [Read more]

SOCIETY: _Tommy Merlyn is ALIVE?!_ Rumors fly as sightings of the fallen Starling City prince continue to multiply… [Read More]

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I kinda' also needed a way to inject those articles, blogs and news stories into the format of this series because the sequels won't work without them. And thank you so much for your continued support! It really means a lot! Ooh, and to those who are dying to know how Felicity finally got back at Oliver for that naughty little stunt in Chapter 4, head over to Extra! Extra! and scroll down to Chapter 3: Right Back Atcha', Mr. Queen! Kisses!


	10. Announcements

ANNOUNCEMENT:

I hope you don't mind. I'd just like to announce that I've posted two new works related to this story (summaries are posted below)! **New Announcements underlined and in bold.**

And BTW, Finally is going to be the first part to the trilogy: Finally, Perfectly and Completely!

 **New BONUS CHAPTER for Finally See Chapter 9!**

New Stories:

 **(1) Extra! Extra!**

Outtakes, cut scenes, vignettes and drabbles from the Finally, Perfectly and Completely universe. Ratings and warnings indicated per chapter.

Chapter 1: Operation: Olicity - A Prologue to Finally: How Team Flarrow planned to lock Oliver and Felicity in a closet!  
Chapter 2: The Karaoke Car Jam: How Felicity thought she could rope Oliver into singing... in the car... with an audience! And how he ends up surprising her instead!

 **Chapter 3: Right Back Atcha', Mr. Queen! How Felicity gets back at Oliver for that naughty little stunt!**

NOTE: This site doesn't allow script fic so for chapter 2, you'll have to head on over to AO3. The work is posted under the same username - mauvemaven. I hope it wouldn't be hard for you to find it.

 **(2) Crimson Kiss**

A Spin-off to Finally. Team Flash had just come home from their mission in Starling City with nothing much to go on and the case that brought them there had begun to grow cold. Everybody seemed to carry on with their own lives, not really bothered by the lack of progress because well, they can't really squeeze water from a stone. And everything was fine... until the insidious threat started renewing its murderous intent. And yeah, it all really started with a kiss.

This work can be read as a stand-alone work but readers are strongly advised to read the parent work, Finally, to experience this fic more thoroughly and completely.

Note: This is posted under the Flash fandom. If you can't find it, just go to my profile and look under my stories. You'll get to it easily from there.

And finally, thank you so much really for the support you gave and continue to give Finally. It keeps me writing! Thank you so much, my lovelies! XOXO


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